Darla and the Mystery of the Night Monster
by PerkyGoth14
Summary: Poor Darla is suffering from nightmares, so Cherry, Lionel, and Atticus decide that she needs to have an adventure to get her mind off of things. Lionel suggests that they visit Fievel since it had been a while since they last saw him, and coincidentally, Fievel is also having terrible nightmares about monsters so they make friends with an ace mouse reporter: Nellie Brie.
1. Chapter 1

It seemed to be a normal night so far. All was calm and quiet so far, but Cherry had her hands full with her dream-walking training since there was a case of nightmares going on.

"Dimples?" Cherry asked once she saw Darla who was now Atticus's adoptive little sister as she seemed to be having a nightmare of her own.

Lionel grumbled in his sleep. "Eh? What's going on?" he asked.

Cherry was in the house with him, but not exactly at the same time since she was in the Dream Realm right now. She looked like a zombie whenever she slept like this. Darla turned and twisted in her sleep, her nightmare clearly being very agonizing for her.

Cherry soon rushed over to Darla in her dream to wake her up. "Dimples, wake up, you're having a nightmare!" she then cried out to wake up the girl.

Darla soon screamed in her bed as she soon finally woke up and panted heavily which woke up Atticus and the rest of his family.

"Darla...?" Patch frowned out of concern.

"What's up, kid?" asked Lionel, poking his nightcap-clad head around the corner. "Or rather, what's keeping you up?"

Darla shivered a bit.

"Oh, Darla... You must've had a nightmare..." Atticus frowned as he sat down with his little sister.

"I did..." Darla frowned back.

"Hoo, boy... How many has it been this month, exactly?" asked Lionel.

"Cherry?!" Atticus called out.

Cherry soon rushed over with her notebook. "72 times." she then said.

"Darla, you should tell us about your nightmare, it'll feel less scary that way." Atticus smiled.

"Oh, but I can't get it out of my mind," Darla frowned. "You guys remember how terrible I was when you first met me."

"Yup." Cherry nodded.

"I saw the movie, but yes, I remember." Lionel added.

Darla let out a small moan.

"Is this because of that incident at Stage 13?" Atticus asked.

Darla nodded sadly.

"Aw, come on, Dimples," Cherry said. "Danny and Sawyer aren't mad at you anymore. You've gotten the other animals to forgive you. Even Cranston, for the grump he is, and you're living a great new life. You don't have to feel bad anymore."

"Yeah. Put the past behind you!" Lionel replied. "So what was the nightmare about? Confronted by your past self?"

"Mm-hmm..." Darla nodded.

"Figures..." Lionel replied. "Well, we gotta put the kibosh on these nightmares, tout de suite!"

"I'm doing the best I can from Princess Luna's training." Cherry said, sounding quite tired and exhausted from her best efforts.

"Maybe we can get Darla out on an adventure for a while?" Atticus suggested as he stroked the girl's blonde curls. "But where? Things have been quiet since she last saw the Sailor Scouts, so they might be too busy with other things to take her on an adventure."

Lionel suddenly snapped his fingers in realization. "Hey, I know... Why don't we go visit Fievel?" he suggested.

"Fievel?" Darla asked.

"Yeah, you know, our little mouse friend," Atticus replied. "Maybe visiting a new world will make you feel better."

"It always helps ME," Lionel replied. "I haven't seen him since I first met him during his journey to find his family. I wasn't there for his Wild West adventure, since I was busy catching up on previous adventures."

Darla wiped her eyes.

"Let me check my spell book real quick." Atticus said as he walked off to his room for a moment.

"Alright, take your time." Lionel replied.

Atticus and Patch went into his room for a moment.

"Hey, Dimples, don't feel so blue," Cherry said to Darla. "I mean sure, you flooded a stage with a bunch of us inside of an ark and we thought we could trust you and you just wanted me and Atticus dead because we knew your plan-"

Darla soon yelled out and cried as she felt bad about that.

"Oh... Uh... Whoops." Cherry muttered.

"Smooth move," Lionel replied sarcastically before turning to Darla. "Look, Darla... Sure you weren't exactly nice in the past... But that's not you anymore. You're learning from your mistakes and putting in the effort to become a better person."

"I'm really trying..." Darla said as she covered her eyes. "Especially since I've met Serena and the other Sailor Scouts. Atticus and Jessica even took me to Hollywood to make amends."

"See? Progress!" Lionel smiled. "But still, ya gotsa be brave. And if there's one rodent who knows about being brave, it's Fievel Mousekevitz. After all, he was plenty scared, but he didn't let it keep him from finding his family AND saving them, as well as the entire rodent community of New York. Have I ever mentioned the Giant Mouse of Minsk?"

"Aye, ye have." Cherry said as she attempted to sound Scottish.

"Oh, you shoulda seen it, Darla; it was enor-mouse!" Lionel replied. "And those cats were runnin' scared! Hoo-wee, it was a **LAUGH RIOT!** "

"Enor-mouse...?" Darla asked, giggling a little as that was kind of funny.

"Ah, see what I did there?" Lionel smirked, tussling her hair playfully. "Anyways, I'm sure Fievel and Tiger and Tony will like you."

"Hmm... I hope so..." Darla replied.

Atticus soon came back out with a spell to take them to where Fievel and his family were.

"What took you so long?" Cherry replied.

"Forgot where I put it..." Atticus replied. "But I found it!"

"Okay then," Lionel replied. "Let's get squeakin'!"

"Fair enough." Cherry said.

Atticus soon did the other world spell and used certain words to take them to the Mousekewitz family, and of course, they would be mice for this adventure like in the other adventures in An American Tail.

* * *

"Good morning, everyone~!" Lionel greeted as he and the others entered the Mousekevitz household. "Long time, no see!"

It seemed to be a rough morning in the Mousekewitz household.

"Holy Swiss Cheese, I'm gonna be late for work!" Tanya yelped as she ran out of bed.

"Whoa... Looks like Tanya's in a rush..." Lionel commented.

"You think so?" Cherry replied.

"Work?" Darla asked. "Why would a kid have to work?"

"Welcome to the turn of the century, Dimples," Cherry told her. "Children have jobs as well as their parents."

"It was... A difficult time." Lionel added.

"Do I have to get a job too?" Darla asked.

"Maybe you could go with Tanya for a while?" Atticus smiled to his little sister. "Be lucky you only have to go to school back home and not to have to worry about work."

"I guess... I've technically had a job since I was almost five though." Darla replied about her old life.

"Good luck, kiddo." Lionel replied as he patted her on the head.

"Oh, my..." Darla said about having to go to work before looking to see that her clothes changed to fit the time period since she was in her pajamas before.

"Oh, I can't believe I overslept, this is awful!" Tanya cried out. "Just awful!"

"Hey, if you rush they might not notice," Lionel stated. "Morning, Five. What's up with you?"

"I... I had a nightmare..." Fievel shivered, a little shook up.

"Just like Darla did..." Lionel noted. "Maybe you could help. Why don't you go with her? It might take your mind off the nightmares you been having."

"Uh... Well..." Fievel stammered.

"That might be good, go off and have an adventure." Cherry told them, pushing Fievel into the kitchen while Papa read the newspaper called The Daily Nibbler.

"Maybe we could tag along too," Lionel remarked. "Besides, we came for an adventure and by God, we're gonna have one!"

Tanya soon came out once she was dressed and ready to go to work.

"You vant to talk awful, vell, look at this headline," Papa huffed as he read his newspaper. "Manhattan Monster Mystery torments townmice!"

"My boss Mr. Daley came up with that," Tanya smiled bashfully. "I think it's catchy."

"Alliteration!" Lionel noted, and a "DING!" sound was heard.

"Tanya has yet another design change that's confusing as all heck in the American Tail continuity." Cherry added with another DING! which was more of a CinemaSin than a CinemaWin.

"Eh, whatever works," Lionel replied. "I thought it meant she was getting older. Also, it's Lacey Chabert voicing her instead of Cathy Cavadini, so... Yeah."

"I can't watch Fievel Goes West without thinking about Blossom from the Powerpuff Girls." Cherry then said.

"I think it's cockamamie!" Mama complained about the newspaper. "He should be ashamed printing such stories. It's a vunder any of us can sleep!"

"But Mama, Mr. Daley says that's what sells newspapers," Tanya said, straightening out her clothes. "Of course, Nellie Brie says that stories about monsters are just a bunch of babble and balderdash. They argue all the time." she then said with a deep, fulfilling sigh.

"Conflict of interests," Lionel nodded. "If I've seen it once I've seen it... Well, a lot."

"Not to mention it sounds like Tanya has a crush on that Mr. Daley guy." Atticus added.

"What?!" Tanya yelped. "That is just not true! I have a high admiration for my boss!"

"Yeah, a school girl high admiration." Cherry smirked.

"You actually met Nellie Brie?" Fievel asked his sister out of shock.

"Sure," Tanya smiled. "First day I'm on the job, she walks up, shakes my paw, and says 'Welcome to the Daily Nibbler'!"

"Very keen, indeed..." Lionel remarked.

Tanya just pouted to them.

"Say, vhen you see her, tell her that vas some article she wrote about those mice," Papa said to Tanya. "Slaving avay at the clothing factory!"

"So vhat kind of story is that?" Mama scoffed. "Everybody ve know vorks hard!"

"Who are you?" Fievel asked Darla.

"I'm Darla," Darla replied. "Atticus's little sister."

"I didn't know Atticus had a little sister." Fievel said.

"Well, it's her first time being here," Lionel explained. "We figured we could help her deal with her nightmare problems."

"Well, um, it's nice to meet you." Fievel said to Darla.

"So, this is the famous Fievel Mousekewitz." Darla then smiled.

"Oh, I don't know about famous." Fievel replied.

"Buddy, you helped construct a huge robot mouse AND stop a gang of notorious feline outlaws," Lionel replied. "If that's not fame, I don't know what is."

Fievel smiled bashfully to that before drinking the milk in a thimble that his mother gave him while she talked with his father about the newspaper. "Wow... She must be really brave..." he then frowned about how amazing Nellie Brie was.

"Yes, I suppose so." Tanya smiled as she got ready to go to work.

"This Nellie Brie character has some major chutzpah," Lionel remarked. "And that's just what we need!"

"So what are we going to do today?" Darla soon wondered.

"I think you should go to vork vith Tanya." Mama suggested.

"Huh?!" Tanya gasped.

"And have this neighbor Nellie Brie tell him that this monster is a bunch of 'booble and boulderdick'." Mama then said, patting Fievel on the head.

Cherry snickered slightly from what the Russian mouse woman said. Lionel joined in, also realizing it. Atticus tried to stop them, but chuckled himself as it was kind of funny.

"You mean 'babble and balderdash'." Papa smirked to his wife.

"Booble, Bobble, whatever!" Mama scoffed before smiling to her son. "Fievel, go get dressed."

"Okay, Mama." Fievel said before going off to his bedroom.

* * *

Eventually, Fievel returned, fully-dressed.

"Oh, Mama, please, I can't!" Tanya whined about taking her little brother along. "Tell her, Papa!"

"Mama... She _is_ new on the job..." Papa replied.

"Yes, but _how_ did you get this job?" Mama then asked.

"Well... From Tony, but-" Tanya frowned.

"And _whose_ friend is Tony?" Mama then asked.

"Fievel's..." Tanya groaned.

"So, it's settled." Mama said.

"Alright, let's go!" Lionel decided.

"You okay, Fievel?" Darla frowned out of concern.

"I'm ready..." Fievel said, a bit tiredly.

"I'm doomed." Tanya groaned to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

And so, they soon left the house, passing by Flaversham Toy Shop on the way.

"Don't look now, Fievel, but we're about to pass your girlfriend." Tanya smirked.

Fievel went red with embarrassment at that. "She's not my girlfriend, Tanya." he retorted.

"Flaversham..." Cherry muttered before remembering. "Oh, yeah! Olivia Flaversham," she then turned to Atticus, Darla, and Lionel. "I met her when I met Basil: The Great Mouse Detective."

"I see..." Lionel nodded. "I'll hafta check that out sometime."

Fievel looked bashful as they passed by the toy store. Olivia smiled as she helped out her father, Hiram as the others walked by.

"Good morning, Mr. Flaversham." Tanya waved.

"Oh, good morning, Tanya." Hiram smiled to the young mouse girl.

"Hi, there." Lionel waved.

"Oh, are these some friends?" Hiram replied.

"Yes, you remember Cherry and Atticus, this is Lionel and Darla, and of course, Fievel." Tanya smiled.

"Yup." Lionel nodded.

Olivia soon came out with a smile.

"Oh, uh, hi, Olivia." Fievel said sheepishly.

"Hi, Fievel." Olivia smiled.

"Um, Tanya, don't we have work to get to?" Lionel asked. "I doubt your boss will like it if you're late."

"Gah! Yeah!" Tanya then yelped and went back to rushing off to work for the day since teasing her brother seemed to eat up some of her time.

"Olivia, I have to run into town, you stay out of trouble." Hiram soon said as he went with some other mice to the Town Council to talk about the issues they had been having for a while.

"Alright, Dad." Olivia nodded.

Hiram smiled and soon walked off.

"I guess we gotta get to work for the day, eh, Fievel?" Olivia smiled bashfully.

"Uh, yeah, I'm going with Tanya today." Fievel replied.

"So let's GO!" Lionel repeated.

"Goodbye, Fievel..." Olivia said. "Have a good day."

"Thanks, Olivia..." Fievel said, backing up a bit nervously.

"Step it up, little Five," Lionel replied. "We gotta go!"

* * *

Tanya seemed to be walking fast to get away from Fievel.

"Tanya! Slow down, will you?" Fievel complained.

"Now just remember when we get to the newspaper, don't be a pest." Tanya told him sharply.

"I am not a pest!" Fievel pouted.

"There's gratitude for you..." Lionel commented.

"And don't even try to talk to my boss, Mr. Daley," Tanya then said. "Understand?"

"Why?" Fievel asked. "Is he mean?"

"Mean? Oh, no, he's wonderful," Tanya smiled. "He's the kindest... Smartest..."

"What she's saying is that Mr. Daley is most likely very busy," Lionel explained. "So he's gonna expect us to get the job done."

"Um, yes!" Tanya then said. "Thank you, Lionel."

"My pleasure," Lionel replied. "So let's get moving!"

They soon scampered off, following Tanya. Two mouse guards walked along before stopping as Tanya came into work for the day.

"Next!" A voice called from inside.

"I guess that's our cue." Atticus noted.

They soon came in next once they were called.

"State your destination." A guard demanded.

"I'm going to my job at The Daily Nibbler." Tanya reported.

"A-A-A-And we're with her!" Fievel added about himself and the others.

"Hmm... Hmmm... Hmm!" The guard replied as he looked at their papers before stamping in approval. "Very well, pursue into United Rodents' Council Resolution 4-D-7; I hereby inform you you're here in a state of emergency due to the attack by animals or animals unknown."

"Good to know." Lionel replied.

Fievel looked a bit startled on the other hand.

"Any questions?" The guard asked after running the rules by them.

"No, sir." The others replied, even Fievel.

"Good, be careful out there." The guard replied before letting the other guard let them pass through.

"Thanks." Darla nodded as they entered.

* * *

Of course, being mice, they were met by giant humans who were going about their own business.

"Whoa!" Lionel yelped. "Bob and weave, duck and dodge!"

"I'm not sure if I can make it through there." Darla trembled.

"Come here, Darla, you can ride on my back." Atticus offered.

Darla climbed onto his back and patted his head. Atticus smiled to his little sister and gave her a ride and soon went with the others across the street carefully while following after Tanya. They soon found a carriage ride and used it safely over and then made it to Tanya's workplace.

"54th street, watch your step." The coachmouse told them.

"Got it!" Lionel nodded as they disembarked.

They soon kept running, but luckily, they were almost there.

"So much running... No one said there had to be so much running..." Cherry panted as they ran into a hole in the staircase before coming up another hole as the humans were working.

"You want me to carry ya?" Lionel asked her.

Cherry soon came onto him with no hesitation.

"Cherry, say something before you do something like that!" Atticus said.

"Nyah!" Cherry replied.

"Hey, I don't mind." Lionel replied with a smile.

"All right, let's go then." Atticus said as they continued to follow after Tanya.

"Be careful." Tanya warned the others.

"Why?" Fievel asked.

"Just... Do that." Lionel replied.

A stack of newspapers soon dropped down, luckily just missing them.

"Head for that table." Tanya told the others as she led the way.

* * *

It seemed harder than it looked, especially for Fievel.

"Whoa! Watch yer head!" Lionel urged.

Fievel was almost run over by a newspaper cart until someone drove by on a roller-blade and saved him just in time.

"Oh, please, is that your idea of being careful? Now, hold on tight!" The mouse guard told Fievel as they rode off together until they stopped the ride just then.

Eventually, they made it to their destination.

"Thanks... Uh...?" Darla blinked.

"Hello, Tanya." The guard said, revealing to be a female in disguise.

"Nellie, thanks, that was really-" Tanya smiled, but soon looked puzzled. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh, well, you see, I'm writing an article about the security gate," Nellie replied. "Looking for signs of blackmail and kickbacks. That sort. Couldn't find a stitch of it."

"Ooh, clever." Atticus nodded.

"So, you must be Nellie Brie." Darla presumed.

"That's the byline, and you are?" Nellie smiled.

The others then introduced themselves to the famed female mouse reporter.

"Delighted," Nellie smiled before she began to make her exit. "Well, I better be on my way. If I'm late, Reed will bluster on about it all morning, and we wouldn't wanna give him the satisfaction, now would we?"

"Alright," Lionel nodded. "Lead the way!"

"Come along then." Nellie replied.

"Wow!" Fievel smiled.

"You wanna talk with her or not?" Tanya glared before going first.

"What happened to the old Tanya who loved her brother no matter what?" Cherry asked.

"She grew up." Tanya replied.

"Yeah, grew up into a stuffed-shirt jerk." Lionel replied.

"Well, I never!" Tanya glared to them slightly.

"Face it. Just cuz you got older doesn't mean it justifies your lousy new attitude." Lionel replied.

Tanya let out a small scoff while leading them to her workplace. "This never happens when I go alone."

"Is she always like this?" Darla asked.

"She was actually nice the first time we met her." Cherry replied.

"Yeah. She's just convinced that getting older means that you hafta stop being fun," Lionel replied. "But you can get older AND still be fun. Never forget that, kiddo."

Fievel and Darla nodded as they took that as some advice. They soon climbed up a long table and came into what looked like an elevator.

"Here ya go, Miss," The mouse smiled. "All aboard."

"Thank you." Tanya smiled back.

Lionel waved as the lift took them upwards. In a way, it was like a roller-coaster ride, and the mouse even warned them about not having a really big breakfast beforehand.

* * *

They soon came out of the tube and another mouse helped them out once they were finally at work. Cherry wobbled out as her face looked green.

"Easy there." Lionel urged, handing her a large bag.

Cherry took it before heaving into it, as of course, she got sick.

"Is this how you always go to work?" Fievel asked his sister.

"Yep!" Tanya smiled.

"Well... It's certainly interesting..." Lionel remarked. "Starting the day off like that, I don't see or understand how you became such a grump after those first few adventures!"

"Maybe she's in puberty." Cherry replied.

"What's puberty?" Darla asked.

"One of the things I hate about being a girl." Cherry replied.

Lionel's eyes then widened. "That, or maybe she's trying to act older than she is just to impress her boss. I've seen that kinda thing plenty of times." he explained.

"Don't be silly, I told you, I have a high admiration for him." Tanya huffed before smacking Fievel's paw as he tried to take some paper.

"Same difference." Lionel replied.

"I can see it now," A gray male mouse smiled. "Security guard gates caught in cheesy bribe!"

"Oh, look here, Reed, I've never seen anyone take a bribe," Nellie smirked as she hung up her coat. "And the only cheesy thing around here is your preposterous headlines!"

"My headlines are the only reason anyone reads your stories." The male mouse smirked back, taking the hat off her head.

"Well, my stories are the only reason anyone ever reads this paper!" Nellie retorted.

"Conflict of interest...!" Lionel noted.

"You know, if you weren't a lady, I'd give you a piece of my mind." Reed glared to Nellie.

"And I'd take it, but that'd leave you with none to spare." Nellie smirked.

"Ooh! I gotta remember that one." Cherry smirked to herself.

"Already got it." Lionel replied, handing her a piece of paper with the comment written down.

"Thanks." Cherry said, accepting it so she could use it on someone later on.

"Blast it all, Nellie!" Reed glared before slamming his paw on his desk before hurting it. "Oh! Ow! Ow!"

"Who's that?" Fievel asked his sister.

"My boss, Reed Daley," Tanya giggled. "Isn't he something?"

"If you say so." Lionel shrugged.

"Yeah, he sure is something else." Cherry rolled her eyes.

"That Manhattan Monster's the biggest story we've had in years!" Reed told Nellie. "But according to Nellie Brie, no sir! She's off digging up politicians and plot holes!"

"Look here, I write about facts, not fairy tales." Nellie glared.

"Here, Fievel, why don't you draw a little bit?" Cherry suggested, finding some blank paper for the young mouse boy.

"Yeah, great idea!" Lionel replied.

Fievel smiled to that and began to draw while Reed and Nellie seemed to argue for a bit.

"Where is that new assistant?" Reed demanded.

"Right here, Mr. Daley!" Tanya beamed and ran toward him.

"Call a staff meeting; gimme a double buttermilk, cancel my 3:00, and get Byrd to get those singulation figures on my desk pronto!" Reed responded.

"At least he's not as bad as Jameson." Lionel smirked.

"I want those pictures of Spider-Man on my desk by 4:00, Parker!" Cherry said in a gravely voice for a joke.

Darla and Fievel began to draw together.

"Huh? Who are you?" Reed asked.

"Eek!" Fievel yelped as that startled him while holding his drawing.

Reed took the paper and glanced at it. "My ears don't look like that!" he commented.

"True, but to be accurate, he'd need a bigger piece of paper." Nellie smirked.

Tanya looked horrified of what might happen next.

"All right, who let in the kid?" Reed snorted as he crumbled up the paper.

"I'm SO sorry, Mr. Daley!" Tanya apologized frantically. "That's my brother and their friends. My parents made me bring them."

"So, we could ask Miss Brie about the 'bumble and the bubbledum'." Fievel added softly.

"The what and who?" Reed replied.

"The babble and the balderdash," Nellie told him. "Your stone-cold monster."

"Oh, yeah, well, sorry, kid, but this isn't a babysitting service." Reed then scoffed to Fievel.

"Hey, Fievel is no ordinary kid, that's for sure," Lionel replied. "He's done plenty of extraordinary things in the past times we've met him."

"Uh, don't worry, Mr. Daley, it won't happen again." Tanya smiled nervously, trying to drag her little brother away.

"B-B-But I didn't get to ask Miss Brie!" Fievel frowned.

"Forget it, Fievel," Tanya groaned. "Oh, things could not get any worse."

They soon heard a tube coming with someone else coming over.

"Tony!" Cherry gushed out of excitement.

"Try not to get jealous," Atticus whispered to Lionel. "Cherry had a crush on Tony when she was a kid."

"Eh, it's cool," Lionel replied before speaking normally. "Yo, Ton-ay! Long time no see and whatnot!"

"Yo, guys!" Tony smiled as he came over to see them. "Hey, what're you doin' here?"

"We came with Tanya." Fievel smiled back.

"Great!" Tony smiled. "Oh! Hey there, Mr. D!"

"Do I know you?" asked Reed.

"Sure! I'm Tony Toponi, your new rovin' reporter!" Tony exclaimed.

"Tony, you are not a reporter," Tanya glared before smirking. "You're a news boy."

"Yeah, that too, but I'm makin' big connections on the street," Tony replied. "And have I got news for you!"

"He's all ears, obviously." Nellie smirked, showing Fievel's drawing.

Lionel snickered under his breath at that.

"So, what's up, Tony?" Cherry asked.

"There was another monster attack last night, in Chinatown!" Tony smirked.

"Whoa! Talk about your Hong Kong Horrors!" Lionel remarked.

"What else?" Darla asked Tony curiously.

"Swiped the gang right out of the livin' room!" Tony smirked. "I heard it was a regular 'massa-cre'! Blood all over the place!"

Fievel soon gulped nervously.

"Arms and legs twisted right off!" Tony continued while Atticus and Darla looked a bit traumatized while Cherry looked like she was being aroused somehow. "Eyes sucked clean right out of their sockets!"

"Is it hot in here?" Cherry commented.

Lionel glanced over. "No, it's just you." he replied.

"Tony!" Fievel groaned.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Smooth, Toponi. Maybe tone it down before you traumatize the kiddos... Or make someone with a weak stomach very ill." Lionel added.

"Oh, uh, sorry 'bout that, buddy." Tony replied.

"Well... No harm, no foul, I suppose," Lionel replied. "And Cherry? Your reaction to that... Detailed description has given me a LOT of future ideas."

Cherry gave a sheepish smile in response to that.

Lionel coughed into his fist. "Well... Anyways... We might as well get going. We've got work to do." he replied, trying to diffuse the awkwardness.

"All right, all right." Cherry replied.

"Nothing I haven't dealt with before," Atticus said as he got settled in. "I help out Clark at the Daily Planet all the time."

"Alright, I've got it-'Monster Strikes Again; Fortune Cookie Crumbles for Chinese Mouse'," Reed described the possible headline. "Eh, I'll think of something better. Nellie, get out there and get on that story. Oh, and take Rembrandt and company here with you."

"Oh! Honestly, Reed!" Nellie glared.

"Look, either he goes with you to Chinatown, or you stay here with him and play babysitter." Reed grinned.

"Ooh!" Nellie growled before handing Fievel a notepad and stormed off to get ready.

"Okay, then, time to net us a story!" Lionel remarked confidently.

"Hopefully this gets your mind off your nightmare." Atticus comforted Darla.

"I guess so." Darla sighed softly.

"Just follow me," Tony smirked. "I know where we can go to follow this tip."

"Alright... Lead the way, Toponi." Lionel replied.


	3. Chapter 3

And so, they left the news room and began to follow after Tony, passing by humans at work.

"Thanks, ever so much for the tip, Mr. Toponi." Nellie said.

"Ah, no sweat, Miss Brie," Tony smiled. "You need to know what's up, I'm yer guy!" he then whistled.

"Wonder what it's for...?" Lionel pondered.

"You'll see." Tony hinted.

"Huh? Who? What? Wasn't me?" A familiar cat was soon heard before he smiled and came out to the group of mice. "Tony! Hi, Fievel, how you doin'? Ah, Cherry and Atticus, so good to see you guys! Oh, and you've brought some friends with ya."

"And what have we here?" Nellie mused.

"This is our friend, Tiger," Fievel smiled. "He's a cat."

"Hey, big guy!" Lionel smirked. "Been a while!"

"What were ya doin' in there?" Tony asked Tiger, collecting the newspapers that fell out of the cat's bag.

"I was just takin' a nap cuz I'm pooped." Tiger replied before yawning.

"You got Tiger working for you?" Fievel asked Tony.

"No, with, w'ere partners!" Tony told him. "We're partners! He gives me mobility, I give him half the take... After expenses."

Lionel smirked. "Equal partners..."

"What sort of expenses?" Nellie soon wondered.

"Ah, with the cost of the papers, alphabetizing and promotion, he clears about 10%." Tony replied.

"Mr. Toponi, I think you're about to go far in this business," Nellie replied before walking off to the carriage. "Really, I do."

"True on that." Lionel nodded.

"Bye, guys, see you later!" Fievel smiled and waved as he followed after Nellie.

"Yeah, later!" Tony waved back. "Bye, Miss Brie!"

"Catch ya later, Tones!" Lionel waved as he and the others followed behind.

Tony and Tiger were soon left behind as they had their own work to do. The others soon caught a train ride into town to start their own work.

"Well now, what was it you wanted to ask me?" Nellie asked Fievel.

"Well... It was about... The monster." Fievel replied.

"He's been having nightmares about it for awhile now, and it's got him really spooked." Lionel explained.

"Oh, I see," Nellie replied. "All those horror stories have him worried, hmm?"

"I'll say!" Fievel frowned. "I've never been so scared in my whole life! I'm afraid to go to sleep, and when I do sleep, I get these nightmares that are so-" he then stopped in doubt. "Oh, you must think I'm a big baby, huh?"

"Not at all, not at all," Nellie smiled. "I know exactly how you feel."

"Really?" asked Fievel.

"Oh, but you can't," Darla said. "You seem fearless."

"Oh, no, dears," Nellie smiled. "Only fools are fearless."

"Yeah. Fear is just your brain's way of saying that you're smart enough to know when to back out of a situation." Lionel added.

"If that's the case, Cherry's earlier adventures sure check out." Atticus commented.

"Says the guy who used to be afraid of water." Cherry smirked.

"Cherry, you know why that was!" Atticus whined.

"Cut it out, you two." Lionel playfully chided them both.

Cherry and Atticus rolled their eyes like siblings, but soon stopped.

"But I have learned, once you find out the facts about something scary; it helps make the fear go away." Nellie advised Fievel.

"Yeah! When you know about how stuff works, it doesn't seem as scary afterwards!" Lionel agreed.

"I've always learned that the hard way... Especially after a bad dream... It's good to talk about it." Cherry added.

"Really?" Fievel smiled.

"Really." Nellie smiled back as the train soon stopped.

"Hey, that's pretty clever advice." Lionel beamed.

"Cherry has pretty good advice sometimes." Atticus smiled to Lionel.

"Was there ever any doubt about it?" Lionel replied.

"When the night is dark, it shadows all around~," Nellie began to sing. "And there's monsters everywhere you turn~"

"There's a very simple secret I have found, that anyone with courage can learn," Lionel joined in, making a hat and cane appear in his hands. "Get the facts! All the whats and wheres and whys, Get the facts~!"

Cherry looked over while Darla and Fievel began to look hopeful.

"All the whats and wheres and whys, Get the facts!~" Nellie continued as she sang with Lionel to comfort the young mice. "Simply open up your eyes, Seek the truth, find the proof, And your fears will all go poof!~"

"Get the facts... Get the facts!" Lionel concluded.

"You okay now, Fievel?" Atticus smiled.

"I think so." Fievel replied softly.

"That's the spirit, buddy!" Lionel beamed. "And you, Darla?"

"I guess it sounds nice enough..." Darla said, taking a deep breath in and then let it out.

"There ya go!" Lionel smiled. "You guys have got this fear licked for sure!"

Darla and Fievel smiled back, feeling motivated as they followed Nellie into Chinatown.

"Let's see what we can dig up..." Lionel commented.

"Now, let's you and I shed a little light on this monster." Nellie smiled.

* * *

They soon went to get going as the human worked and there were many Chinese mice together. Nellie showed her pass and the guard allowed her to pass through with her guests.

"Okay then, can anybody explain to me what happened here?" Lionel asked.

"Best to see for yourself." Nellie said, showing a hole in the room with a giant gaping hole in the floor which looked like a disaster.

"Sheesh... It looks like an earthquake hit this place or something." Cherry commented.

"More like a bunch of firecrackers stuck together..." Lionel replied.

"Say, where's all the blood and stuff?" Fievel asked.

"Now apparently Mr. Toponi didn't get his facts straight," Nellie commented. "It's a mess alright, and a 'massa-cre' as he put it. Hmm... Which is most peculiar..."

"What are you doing here?!" A female mouse gasped. "What are you doing in my house? Get out of here! Go away!"

"Whoa, calm down!" Lionel urged. "We're with Nellie Brie, see?"

"Yes, from the Daily Nibbler," Nellie added. "I'm Nellie Brie."

The mouse gasped to that name, looking excited. "You help us, yes?" she then asked. "You get my husband back?"

"Now, now, Madam, I only report the news, I don't-" Nellie said at first before seeing how upset the mouse woman looked, then saw another mouse with a pair of young mice who looked sad and worried. "Well... I shall try... Really, I will. Now, tell us what happened."

"Yeah, and don't skimp on the details." Lionel added.

The mouse woman soon explained what had happened to her husband until... 'The disaster' struck their home.

"Ah... And could you describe what caused this disaster?" Atticus asked.

"The monster rise up! It start with fire!" The mouse woman replied. "Teeth thrash! Hear cry of husband! AYIEE! Then... Nothing..." she then concluded before crying into her paws.

"Whoa..." Lionel tugged at his collar. "I dunno what's worse: the damage, or how politically incorrect most of these bits are..."

"And I grew up with Sagwa: The Chinese-Siamese Cat." Cherry added onto that.

"Okay, I remember watching Sagwa in reruns when I was younger, so I'll give you that." Lionel replied.

Fievel soon looked into the hole before it reminded him of his nightmare and he shook like a leaf.

Nellie tapped his shoulder and he then jolted before dropping his pencil into the hole. "Don't let the fear win," she encouraged him. "Keep your eyes open to the truth."

"W-Whaddyou mean?" Fievel asked shakily as Nellie approached a nearby footprint.

"This footprint, for one. Does this look like the impression of a monster?" she asked.

"She's right..." Darla replied. "If it _was_ a monster, it would be _way_ bigger!"

"Uh... That's true... I mean... Tiger's paws are longer than that." Fievel scratched his head.

"So, whatya say you get to work, eh, partner?" Nellie suggested, allowing him to draw what he saw.

Fievel then smiled and began to sketch the paw print.

Lionel smirked. "Atta boy..."

* * *

After that, they soon left.

"So, if it isn't a monster wrecking all of those homes, who's taking all the mice?" Fievel wondered.

"That's exactly what we need to find out, isn't it?" Nellie replied.

Some mice gasped before they went to go and see someone who was giving a presentation.

Nearby, a dog with long floppy ears and greenish-brown fur was making an announcement nearby. "Step right up, and see the amazing, astounding: MADAME...MOUSEY!" he announced, his long tongue waggling from the side of his mouth.

Cherry, Atticus, and Lionel shared some glances before coming to see what all the big fuss was about.

"Who is next?" A female voice asked mysteriously. "Ooh, I am getting a vision! It says you are from some far away land!"

"How about that?" A mouse glared before he then smiled. "Yes, actually, I am!"

The other dog chuckled. "Just as I thought. And you, mon petit, I sense a kind heart and a lifetime spent caring for others...is that not true?" she asked.

"Well, uh, yes!" The mouse smiled as she was shown to be a mother with several children.

"Ah! So I am right again! One more," The dog smiled before pointing to another mouse with a cast. "Oh... I am feeling... How you say? An impressionable pain. Yes! GREAT PAIN!"

"Now that's true!" The mouse smiled. "She's amazing!"

"What'd I tell ya?" The green-furred dog remarked.

The others soon came through the crowd to see the animal in question.

"Hello, excuse me," Nellie said as she came up to the dog in question. "Pardon my asking, but what _are_ you exactly?"

"I am Madame Mousey!" The dog replied.

"Oh, no, no, sorry, I mean, what kind of _animal_ are you?" Nellie clarified. "What species?"

"What do you think? I'm a dog!" The dog scoffed.

"Aren't you kind of small to be a dog?" Fievel asked.

Madame Mousey looked triggered by that and was trying very hard not to get mad. "Noo~" she then giggled. "I am a miniature poodle. We are by design, quite petite."

"You're a dog?" Cherry asked. "I thought you were a rat."

At this, the other dog face-pawed. "Hoo boy..."

Mousey grabbed Cherry and shook her like crazy. "LOOK, GIRLY, I AM NOT A RAT! **NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT!** " she growled angrily.

"Okay! Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! Okay!" Cherry cried out.

"Ah, that's a good little mouse," Mousey smiled and soon dropped her flat on the floor. "Now, where were we?"

"You were about to explain yourself?" Nellie prompted.

"I was? Moi? Oh, I am but a humble soothsayer," Mousey smiled. "I travel from town-to-town, reading the minds and the future, providing guidelines of all folks that I meet."

"My name's Tolansky!" the green dog added. "I help her out with these things, but it's no problem cuz she's SO great!" he wagged his tail with joy.

"For a small fee, I'm guessing?" Darla commented.

"Well, some of us have to making a living, ya know?" Mousey smirked which made some of the mice chuckle. Then suddenly, she began howling and rolling around on her stage, then flailing her arms wildly.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Fievel.

"Nothing a good kick in the tarot cards wouldn't cure." Nellie replied as Mousey stopped rolling around and stood up.

"Oh, what is it, my dear Mousey?" Tolansky asked her.

"All of a sudden, I sense a feeling of fear in this place, oui!" Mousey replied. "GREAT OVERWHELMING FEAR! Perhaps, there is something that is threatening you! Something mysterious... Supernatural..."

The mice looked confused at first.

"You know, **SCARY!** " Mousey told them.

"Oh, well, there is the monster." A mouse replied.

"Of COURSE!" Tolansky replied.

"It is fate... Destiny... No wonder I was drawn to this place," Mousey remarked. "To save you all from this Creature de la Nuit."

"...Cherry?" Atticus called.

"Monster of the Night." Cherry translated.

"Thanks." Atticus then said.

"And just how, exactly, do you intend to save us?" Nellie asked Mousey.

"Cripes, what is _with_ you?" Mousey grunted as Tolansky pulled aside a curtain, revealing shelves full of odd-looking little bags. "With Madame Mousey's essence of dogbane! That's right, just hang these in your homes and ze monster will flee from your doorstep!"

"Pretty great deal if you ask me!" Tolansky remarked.

Nellie soon took the others to leave.

"I sense that you are not afraid?" Mousey giggled to Nellie. "So then, you do not believe in the monster?"

"Not until I see it with my own eyes," Nellie replied. "Come along, guys."

"Adieu~" Mousey waved before mumbling to herself. "Be careful what you wish for, Girly, cuz you might get it," she then called out to the crowd. "Now, which of you wishes to be protected from ze monster?~"

A lot of mice clamored hopefully. And as the days went on, more mice reported monster attacks in their homes and businesses, and Mousey and Tolansky were pulling in profits from selling that "essence of dogbane" stuff... And Fievel wasn't making any progress with his nightmares.

"I'm starting to think this talk about monsters isn't going to help Fievel at all." Cherry commented as she looked exhausted as she was a Dream Walker.

"No kidding..." Lionel agreed. "If anything, it's only making things worse. He's been dreaming up six different monsters, all inspired by the eyewitness descriptions..."

"Tell me about it," Cherry replied. "Now I can't sleep, and this is my job with Princess Luna."

"That tears it," Lionel grunted. "There's something fishy about this whole monster situation, and I don't like it."

"Looks like it's time for Detective Fudo to get to work." Atticus said as he looked determined.

"That goes for us, too!" Lionel replied.

"Cherry, you catch up on some sleep while we-" Atticus said only to turn over to see Cherry sleeping already. "Uh... Great..." he then sighed slightly.

"Don't worry, man! You got ME with you! And I'm not...gonna...start snoozing..." Lionel continued...before he dropped to the ground like a stone, since he dozed off as well.

Atticus sweat-dropped to them and soon walked off to go and take care of this mystery.

Lionel grunted in his sleep. "Hairy chicken...asparagus...salami walrus..."

* * *

Cherry woke up in the Dream Realm and sighed as she felt exhausted.

"Looks like we're here again for the time being..." Lionel remarked.

"Dwah! How did you get here?!" Cherry asked.

"I guess I just kinda popped in, too." Lionel replied.

"Great..." Cherry sighed. "Oh. No offense, but I'm used to working in here alone with Princess Luna."

"Eh, it's fine. I can figure this out for myself as I go along!" Lionel replied.

"All right..." Cherry rolled her eyes, walking down the hallway.

Lionel followed behind, floating through the air above. "Alright... Seems pretty simple so far." he noted.

"Do you always float?" Cherry asked him. "Bat-Mite or no Bat-Mite?"

"Eh, it's optional." Lionel replied.

"I guess I have more to learn from Brave and the Bold." Cherry commented.

"Fair enough." Lionel nodded.

"Guess I'm still trying to get over the shock that Batman in that cartoon is voiced by Oswald on The Drew Carey Show." Cherry then muttered.

"Also Hoss Delgado from Billy and Mandy." Lionel added.

"Wow... He gets around... Never noticed it growing up." Cherry commented.

"It takes time to figure it out," Lionel replied. "I went through that too."

Cherry soon opened Darla's door to check on her dreams.

* * *

Darla found herself happy with Atticus's family as she had found a new life after meeting him and Cherry.

"Aw... This is a pretty adorable dream." Lionel commented.

"Maybe she's over her nightmares," Cherry said. "Okay, time for me to go."

Suddenly, the scene became dark and the roof was opened up and a giant butler was shown.

"Oh, crud." Cherry frowned.

"M-M-Max!" Darla cried out of fear from her former butler.

"That's a BIG monkey...!" Lionel gulped.

"I never thought Max was even human..." Cherry replied. "I don't know where he came from, but it was pretty scary whenever he could pick up Atticus."

"He's some ungodly creature from the pits of Hell, no doubt..." Lionel commented.

Max soon reached out and grabbed Darla, taking her away from the Fudo family which made her scream.

"Oh, man-oh-man-oh-man!" Lionel yelped. "We hafta do something!"

Atticus soon came to try to help Darla only to get squashed flat like a pancake from Max's fist.

"Okay, just don't freak out when I do this." Cherry said as she was about to transform.

"Okay." Lionel replied.

Cherry soon got on her hands and knees and soon grew pegasus wings and soon let herself fly up towards Darla to try to wake her up from this nightmare.

"Whoa... That's amazing!" Lionel beamed, his eyes getting starry.

"Dimples, you have to wake up!" Cherry told Darla.

Darla kept screaming as she couldn't seem to see or hear Cherry.

"Oh... Right..." Cherry said, then touched Darla's shoulder to make herself known in the dream.

Darla kept screaming before looking over. "Cherry?"

"Darla! You gotsa wake up!" Lionel yelled.

"I... I'm not sure if I can." Darla pouted.

Max soon flicked Cherry away like a bug since she was shown to him and she soon crashed through the floor.

Lionel took out a spatula and peeled her off the ground. "You miserable primate!" he spat angrily.

Max laughed evilly while holding Darla captive.

"Please! I don't want my old Hollywood life back!" Darla cried out. "Mr. Mammoth beats me if I act too out of control!"

"Take your stinkin' paws off 'er, YOU DAMN! DIRTY! AAAAAAAAPE!" Lionel yelled loudly.

Max growled and reached out for Lionel to pulverize him.

"Lionel, be careful!" Cherry cried out.

"Got it!" Lionel replied as he shape-shifted into a piranha with chainsaws for teeth.

That made Darla scream even more. Max snarled as he soon dropped her to face Lionel and Cherry dove in to save Darla, catching her in her arms.

Lionel quickly changed back to normal. "Oh, jeez, I scared her! I'm SO sorry!" he told Darla.

Darla soon hugged Cherry while crying a bit in distress.

"Gosh, I've never seen her like this before." Cherry commented.

"Oh, crud... Waitaminute, I got it!" Lionel realized. "Darla... This is YOUR mind, right? Then... Imagine-shrink that big galoot to the size of a cricket!"

"Can I do that...?" Darla asked.

"Yeah, you just have to tell yourself that." Cherry told her calmly.

"Yeah! Just use your noodle!" Lionel explained. "That's another way of saying use your brain's imagination!"

"Noodles?" Darla asked.

"Not noodles, noodle," Cherry replied. "Do the Noodle Dance!"

"Yeah! It gives your mind the boost it needs to use your imagination!" Lionel explained.

"Hmm..." Darla pouted a bit.

"Look, Darla, I know you're scared, but this is a dream," Cherry told her. "None of it is real."

"Yeah, it's only as real as you think it is," Lionel explained. "And if you think it's not real... Then it can no longer hurt you."

Darla soon tried to calm down and soon Max's eyes widened and he turned into a bunch of butterflies. The butterflies then quickly dispersed in separate directions.

"See? You did it, kiddo!" Lionel cheered.

"Phew... That was close..." Darla smiled calmly before sighing. "I guess the thoughts of Hollywood is still haunting me..."

"Well, you know that Danny forgave you right away," Cherry replied. "He's a really forgiving guy."

"So you need to forgive yourself," Lionel added. "It's the way to put an end to your nightmares and achieve closure."

"I don't know..." Darla frowned, rubbing her arm.

"Hey, I might not have been there, but Atticus told me about how he beat the crap out of LB Mammoth for ya." Cherry smirked to help make Darla smile.

"Yeah, it was amazing!" Lionel snickered.

Darla giggled a little as that was kind of funny, especially since the movie producer deserved it.

"I never would've guessed he was mean though," Cherry then said. "But... Then again... It makes sense after we got to know you better, Dimples."

"Mm-hmm..." Darla nodded. "He came to adopt me just so he could have someone cute and cuddly so more people would see his movies since a lot of his clients had gotten too old at that time, so that's why I came to Hollywood."

"That stinks on ice," Lionel replied. "But at least you're alright now!"

"Yeah... I suppose so..." Darla said as the nightmare soon ended.

"Think about your new life... Like... With Urchin." Cherry said.

"Who told you about Urchin?" Darla blushed.

"I read the stories!" Lionel replied. "But seriously, congratulations."

Darla smiled bashfully before Urchin soon came into her dream to make this a sweet dream instead of a bitter nightmare.

"There ya go!" Lionel replied. "Now that is using your noodle!"

Darla looked over bashfully.

"We're walking, we're walking." Cherry said, leaving with Lionel so that Darla could have some privacy.

"I think our job here is completed." Lionel stated.

"I guess so, now if only we could help Fievel with his nightmares." Cherry replied.

"Yeah... I hope we can do that." Lionel replied. "But we probably oughta wake up and go after him."

"Okay, just follow me since you're still new to this." Cherry reminded him.

"Will do!" Lionel saluted.

They soon walked off together and soon woke up in the guest bedroom together while Fievel suffered from another horrifying nightmare.

* * *

Eventually, Fievel was shown to be asleep at the dinner table and soon woke up, crying about the monster, but looked confused when he saw that it was just a dream and he wasn't in bed.

"What happened?" Fievel muttered.

"You fell asleep in your soup." Papa told him.

"Seriously, Five, you gotta do something about this," Lionel explained. "You haven't had a proper night's sleep in days."

"Oh, my poor Fievel..." Mama cooed, comforting her son before whacking her husband in the head. "You are идиот!"

"I vould have voken him up," Papa replied. "At least this vay, he'll eat a little... Sleep a little..."

" _Drown_ a little?" Mama glared.

"It vas a shallow bowl." Papa replied.

"Well, he _has_ been out with us, trying to solve this mystery..." Lionel replied.

"It's okay, Mama, it's all right..." Fievel yawned. "I guess I'm just kinda tired."

"No wonder!" Mama replied. "For weeks you've been running around town!"

"Getting information about all this monster madness!" Papa added.

"I know." Fievel pouted.

"And for vhat?" Mama asked. "You're too tired for the rest of the day, and at night, you don't sleep."

"You were the ones who told Tanya to bring us to work with her!" Cherry replied.

"Yeah, not exactly a good move." Lionel nodded.

"Mind your manners." Papa told them.

"No!" Cherry replied. "You told us to go with Tanya, then Nellie invited us! If anyone's at fault, it's you two!"

"Cherry." Atticus winced nervously.

"We ARE guests in their home," Lionel replied. "They didn't HAVE to let us stay here."

"Maybe you vould be better off on the streets!" Mama scolded.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty." Atticus suggested.

"Look, Mrs. Mousekevitz, we apologize on her behalf," Lionel explained hastily. "It's just that we're all kinda stressed from not finding anything in this case. Our trails keep going cold, and we didn't mean to take it out on you," He then spun back to Cherry before taking her into another room. "Are you TRYING to get us thrown out?!" he snapped.

"Well, it's true!" Cherry glared slightly in her own defense.

"Regardless, we don't have anywhere else to go," Lionel replied. "So we're on thin ice as it is."

"All right, all right..." Cherry replied. "I'll try to cool down a little, but trust me, it is not easy sometimes."

Lionel shrugged. "Nothing worth doing ever is." he replied calmly.

"All right..." Cherry replied. "I just hope these nightmares end soon... I feel so bad for Fievel having these nightmares, I mean, he keeps screaming and crying..." she then said, showing her rare soft side.

"I know," Lionel replied. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's seeing that little guy so sad."

"I may be sour on the outside, but I really do have a heart..." Cherry said softly.

Yasha babbled and soon crawled over.

Cherry soon picked her up like how she would carry her own niece. "Hello!" she then cooed in a high tone of voice to entertain the baby mouse.

Lionel smiled at this. "That's adorable." he commented.

Yasha cooed and giggled to Cherry.

"I try my best since I'm an auntie now." Cherry said to Lionel as she held Yasha in her arms.

"Aww...!" Lionel beamed.

"Oh, you're just like me... You're the baby of the family, aren't ya?" Cherry cooed to Baby Yasha.

Yasha nodded and smiled.

"Ooh, I don't know if I'll ever become a mother." Cherry commented.

"Hey... It could happen," Lionel replied before glancing at a sign labeled "Hilarious in Hindsight".

Cherry glanced to that before rolling her eyes.

* * *

It had been quiet for a while and they soon came out to see that Fievel had left and Mama was calling out for him.

"Looks like Five headed out again," Lionel stated. "Question is, where did he go?"

"Probably off to see Nellie Brie again." Atticus replied as he was about to take Yasha away from Cherry so they could get going.

"Well, then let's go find them!" Lionel stated. "After we put Yasha back."

Yasha whined as she grabbed onto Cherry, not wanting to let go.

"Come on... Let's go..." Cherry grunted to the baby mouse. "I'm not much of a baby person!"

"Hey, it's alright, kiddo," Lionel whispered. "We'll be back soon!"

Yasha pouted as her mother soon took her away as Atticus, Cherry, and Lionel soon went to go after Fievel.

"Five! Where are ya?" Lionel called out.

* * *

They walked around a bit and soon finally found him.

"There he is." Atticus told them.

"Great..." Lionel replied. "What're you guys doing here?"

"There's been another attack downtown." Nellie replied.

"Great..." Lionel groused sarcastically.

"Just what we need." Cherry added in agreement.

"Can't be helped, I suppose..." Lionel replied. "Might as well get down there."

"Come along now." Nellie said.

They soon followed after Fievel and the mouse reporter.


	4. Chapter 4

"Nellie Brie, you remind me of a female Basil of Baker Street sometimes." Cherry commented.

"Well... Thank you, I suppose," Nellie replied.

They soon stopped.

"What's wrong?" Fievel asked Nellie out of concern.

"I shop here... I know the owner..." Nellie replied. "Or rather... I used to."

"Whoa," Lionel commented. "Looks like the monster made a stop over here and decided to do some extreme renovation."

"Guys... S-Something's moving..." Fievel began to feel scared. "It's the monster!"

"No, I don't think so," Cherry said. "It's okay, Fievel."

Atticus got ready to fight just in case and soon came out a mouse from underneath the shambles of the store before he glared around.

"Back for more, is he?!" The mouse glared while coming out of the wreck.

"Well, good to know somebody's still here!" Lionel noted.

"Mr. Haggis, you're alive!" Nellie beamed and hugged the mouse.

"What else would I be?" The mouse replied.

"Dead?" Cherry rolled her eyes.

"Ah, not likely, lassie," The mouse said to her. "It'll take more than that old banshee to peck Old Haggis off to the Pearly Gates!"

"Must be Olivia's uncle or something." Cherry muttered since this mouse was Scottish like Olivia and her father.

"Seems likely," Atticus replied. "I take it you were attacked by the monster as well, sir?"

"Aye..." Haggis nodded. "Came up through the floor like Nessie herself, breakin' the surface of Loch Ness! Nuthin' but teeth and fins!"

"Say hello to this evening's nightmare, Fievel." Cherry deadpanned.

"Another different description..." Lionel remarked, writing it down.

"How'd you get away from it?" Fievel asked the Scottish mouse.

"By fightin' the blasted thing with my own paws, that's how!" Haggis replied. "I was just startin' a wee batch of shortbread when I grabbed the batch of butter and poured it right down the beasty's mouth!"

"And then what happened?" Cherry replied.

"See for yerself." Haggis said as he went to show them the damage.

Lionel noticed a large clump of burnt gray fur on the ground. "Phooooo-ey!" he gagged, pinching his nose.

"Yuck! Do you smell that?" Fievel grimaced.

"I certainly do, it's positively putrid," Nellie replied before she took out a stick to check it out. "Well, then... Here we go."

"Repulsive..." Cherry muttered. "I think I have the flu again."

"Close, but no," Lionel replied. "Also, a couple whiffs of Tabasco sauce will clear those sinuses. Besides, that's burnt fur! Which means this monster isn't what we think!"

Nellie kept poking it before smiling. "Ah, he's right, just a run of the mill, spit up by a house cat, hairball! Start drawing, Fievel."

Fievel then smiled and began to sketch out the hairball in his notepad.

"A break in the case, everyone!" Atticus smiled. "We're back on track!"

"Great observation, Nancy." Cherry approved.

"I'll ignore that..." Atticus remarked. "Anyways...c'mon!"

They soon went to keep going with their investigation of the Night Monster that threatened the poor mice.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tony was trying to sell papers, but he wasn't feeling too enthusiastic about it since he felt like he was getting a raw deal. Tiger did his best to help out, but it seemed to be all downhill from here.

"Anything in there about the monster?" A mouse asked Tony.

"What am I, a librarian?" Tony glared. "You wanna know? Buy yourself a copy!"

The mouse then put his penny back and kept right on walking.

"Tony?" Tiger muffled.

"What?!" Tony glared.

"Uh, is something bothering you?" Tiger asked.

"Me? No, why'd you ask?" Tony sighed. "Paper, hey! Get your paper."

Another mouse just walked by, ignoring him.

"Fine, so STAY uninformed!" Tony snapped.

Today was obviously not a good day for Tony.

"Tony, no foolin', you sound kinda,... I dunno... Cranky." Tiger said to him.

"Well, okay, maybe I am," Tony sighed as he sat down by the vegetarian cat. "I mean, Tanya's workin' with Mr. Daley, Fievel and his friends are hangin' out with Nellie Brie, but I am out here, poundin' up payment!"

"Uh, Tony? I'm pounding the pavement," Tiger replied. "You're just sitting."

"Tiger, the point I am making is I can do that reportin' stuff!" Tony replied before turning his back on the cat, crossing his arms.

"I believe ya, Tony, only what you gotta do is dig up a scoop on that Manhattan Monster, and then Mr. Daley will hafta notice you, get it?" Tiger suggested.

"What I need is a clue...a tip...a lucky break!" Tony realized.

"Yeah! Exactly! Who doesn't?" Tiger added.

"Psst!" A voice whispered from the shadows. "You two! Over here~"

"That was fast." Tiger commented.

"Yeah, just get over here!" Another voice replied.

The two soon followed the voices before seeing two shadowed figures before they came into the light.

"Ain't you that psycho poodle?" Tony asked.

"Not psycho, PSYCHIC, you uncultured rodent!" Tolansky retorted. "Mousey, I am SO sorry! I shouldn't have spoken out of turn like that!" he stated.

"Ooh, you are forgiven, but he shall have a warning..." Mousey grinned, trying to keep her cool.

"There's a difference?" Tony blinked in confusion.

"Excuse me, did you say 'poodle'?" Tiger smiled nervously.

"Oui, I am a poodle." Mousey replied.

Tolansky nodded. "Mm-hmm!" he replied.

"But that would make her a d-d-d-d-d-d-" Tiger stammered.

"A dog?" Mousey replied.

"DOG?! Nay!" Tiger cried out before fainting. "I thought you were just a rat with big hair!"

"She IS NOT A **RAT!** " Tolansky growled. "And you'd better show her the respect that she deserves!"

"Ya got it?!" Mousey glared.

"Got it!" Tiger replied nervously.

"Merci~" Mousey smirked before calming herself down. "I am seeing ze famous Nellie Brie... You would not by chance know her?"

"Sure!" Tony smiled.

"Oh, that's great!" Tolansky grinned.

"Non~" Mousey replied to Tony.

"No, honest!" Tony smiled to the poodle. "Me and Nellie Brie? We works together! I'm a reporter too!"

"Of course you are," Mousey rolled her eyes at first. "Which is why I can trust you to give 'er a, 'ow you say, a 'ot tip?" she then held out a card to the Italian mouse.

"What exactly is a 'teep'?" Tiger asked.

"Non, non, non, not a 'teep', a _tip_!" Mousey replied through her thick French accent. "Sheesh! Ya know, a hint, a clue, a lead!"

"Exactly! Like you said you were looking for!" Tolansky remarked.

"Ohh... Oh, oh, good!" Tiger replied.

Tolansky handed Tony a scrap of paper. "Might be good for finding the location of that nasty Manhattan Monster!" he explained.

Tony looked hopeful to that and decided he had to go and tell Nellie right away.

As soon as the two left, Tolansky looked over at Mousey. "Did I do good, Madame Mousey? Did I?" he asked.

"You did wonderful, my pet, most wonderful indeed~" Mousey smiled to him, petting him like he were her own pet.

Tolansky wagged his tail gleefully. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" he grinned.

"Who's a good boy?" Mousey smirked as she pet him.

"I am! I'm your good boy!" Tolansky replied obediently.

Darla glanced over as she seemed to see that and looked a bit suspicious of Madame Mousey and Tolansky before she soon wandered off after Tony and Tiger had left.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, back at the newspaper office..._**

"Hmm... Very interesting..." Atticus commented. "Just who gave you this insight?"

"Eh, sorry, fella, but a professional reporter should never digest his sources." Tony advised.

"The word is 'divulges', Tony," Tanya remarked.

"Oh, sure, get technical." Tony huffed.

"Look here, Reed!" Nellie told her boss, showing him what Tony was given. "This is absolutely absurd!"

"Look, Nellie, if we got a hot lead on that whatsit, I don't care where it comes from!" Reed replied.

"But Mr. Jameson-" Lionel started before correcting himself. "Reed, after all the legwork we've done...!"

"You've got nothing but a bunch of hunches that lead nowhere!" Reed glared. "Not to mention, drawings that don't even match."

"Of course they don't match," Nellie huffed as she took Fievel's notepad. "Fievel simply drew this thing the way each witness described it!"

"I did?" Fievel blinked.

"Yeah, Fievel, that's what a sketch artist does." Cherry told him.

"Sure! The Chinese saw a dragon, that Scottish guy saw a sea serpent, and so on," Lionel replied. "Further proof that this monster is as hokey as hokey can get!"

"Yes, it's the same monster, it's just seen with different eyes." Nellie added.

"Well... But I still want you to check on this hide-out, pronto!" Reed soon said as he took out the map from Mousey.

Nellie soon took it before sighing in defeat. "Come on, Fievel; we better chase this wild goose before it flies south."

"But what if the rumor's true?" Fievel frowned. "What if the monster's... Really there?"

"Good point, Philly," Tony replied. "So what say you stay, and I go?"

"That's helpful." Cherry deadpanned.

"Whoa! News hound, not so fast." Reed said, grabbing Tony by his scarf to stop him.

"But Mr. D! It's my tip!" Tony cried out.

"Forget it, Tony!" Tanya glared. "Mr. Daley said no, and that's final! Now buzz off! Go! Shoo!"

"Wow, Tanya really DID become meaner between films..." Lionel noted.

"So it's not just me, right?" Cherry replied.

"Nope." Lionel nodded.

"Okay, okay, calm down, Tanya," Atticus said to the young mouse girl. "You're worse than Cherry on the one week out of the month."

Cherry gasped before giving a small glare to Atticus.

"Uh, which I know you can't control and is very painful to go through, but I would not know because I am a stupid boy." Atticus then said to appease her.

Lionel snickered at that. "Alright, let's get going." he replied.

The others agreed to that and they soon went off together.

* * *

Eventually, they arrived at a large, empty house with a "FOR SALE" sign in front.

"Cherry, I think I found you a house to move into after you graduate high school." Atticus commented.

"Awesome." Cherry replied.

"I call top bunk!" Lionel whooped.

"You can have it, I hate heights." Cherry replied.

"Swish!" Lionel whooped as they went inside.

"Boy, I hope we have the wrong address." Fievel shuddered.

Nellie soon took his paw as they went inside of the hole to explore the house.

"This must be what it's like to be The Littles." Cherry said.

"I thought Stuart was the only mouse?" Atticus replied.

"No, not those Littles," Cherry clarified. "I read a book on them once. They're tiny people who live in people's houses and borrow food from them when they're not around. They're sometimes called 'borrowers'."

"Oh, yeah!" Lionel replied. "Didn't DiC base their first animated series on those books before they made Inspector Gadget?"

"Uh... I don't really know... It's been a very long time since I last saw it." Cherry replied.

Lionel checked. "Yup, that's correct." he replied.

They soon came inside the house and the curtains gently blew from the wind outside.

"Just as I thought!" Nellie said. "A wild goose chase."

Nothing seemed to happen until they felt something rumbling.

"Please tell me I'm having another bad dream!" Fievel whimpered.

"If so, then ya better wake up!" Atticus replied.

The floor soon began to burst open and crack from the shaking.

"I think he might be right." Nellie agreed before a ring of fire seemed to come into the floor, and they soon heard some mewing.

"RUN!" Fievel yelped, seeing a cat monster and ran off for his own life.

"Look at that." Nellie plainly stated.

"Waitasecond..." Lionel remarked. "This ain't a monster! It's just some mechanical menace!"

"Either way, we should run before we're shredded!" Cherry suggested.

"Good idea." Lionel replied as the machine continued its advance.

They soon ran off as the machine chased after them, but it wasn't so scary now that they were able to see right through it, in a metaphorical sort of way. Fievel yelped as he nearly fell into a gaping hole until Nellie grabbed onto his paw to keep him up.

"Watch that first step!" Lionel advised.

"The Phaaaantom of the Opera is here~..." Cherry sang before the chandelier dropped on the 'monster'. "Inside your MIND~"

"Whoa! Maybe I don't really want that bunk bed..." Lionel yelped. "I'd be happier with side-by-side beds."

"That's probably a good idea." Atticus said for Lionel's sake.

"But who dropped that chandelier?" Lionel wondered.

"...Cherry?!" Atticus asked.

"Like Shaggy, wasn't me." Cherry replied, quoting a song, not Scooby-Doo.

"Hmm... How in the world-?" Nellie was about to ask.

"Up here!" A familiar voice called out.

They all looked up to see Tony and Darla hiding in the ceiling.

"Darla?!" Atticus called out to his little sister.

"Tony!" Fievel smiled.

"Next stop: ground floor!" Tony smiled back before riding down the chain with Darla.

"Way to go, you two!" Lionel commended them.

"Mr. Toponi, didn't we tell you to stay away from here?" Nellie scolded Tony.

"Yes, ya did." Tony replied.

"But you came anyway?" Nellie then said.

"Yes, we did." Tony smiled.

"As I said, Mr. Toponi, you're going to far in this business," Nellie smiled back. "Now, let's go after that thing."

"Maybe we can find a clue on who built it..." Atticus pondered.

"WHAT?!" Fievel and Tony yelped at first.

"Time for some detective work." Atticus smiled to himself.

"Right behind ya, bucko!" Lionel replied.

"Be careful, Atticus." Darla said.

"Careful is my middle name." Atticus reassured.

"No, it's not," Cherry deadpanned. "It's James."

"You have a middle name?" Lionel asked.

"Lots of people do," Cherry replied. "Though, my grandparents except for my maternal grandmother didn't."

"Hmm...interesting." Lionel nodded.

Fievel shivered and whimpered as Atticus and Nellie went down together.

"Fievel, take a look at this." Nellie declared.

"What is it?" Fievel asked nervously.

"I believe it is a sewer line." Nellie informed.

"Sure smells like one." Lionel noted, getting a whiff of it.

"You ain't just whistlin' Dixie." Tony agreed.

"Look!" Fievel pointed something out. "Is that a ruby?"

"No, a cheap imitation." Nellie replied.

"Let me see that." Cherry said.

Nellie then passed it up to her.

Cherry checked it out. "It's a rhinestone..." she then said. "Trust me, I know rhinestones."

"Hoo-wee!" Lionel remarked. "But how would a rhinestone get in the sewers, and where would it come from?"

"It might be a clue." Atticus said to the others.

"Definitely." Lionel nodded.

Cherry and Atticus looked to each other before sighing as they had yet another mystery to solve. Eventually, they found Tiger and he gave them a ride through the Central Park gate.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ah... This reminds me of riding on Toby through the streets of London with Basil, Dawson, and Olivia..." Cherry sighed. "I never thought it would feel so nostalgic."

"Wish I could've seen it." Lionel commented.

"Uh, sorry about that," Cherry replied. "That was before I knew ya."

"Eh, it's cool," Lionel said. "I can just read it."

The ride seemed to last for a while as it was getting dark, almost night time.

"Ya know, this park is a lot nicer during the day," Tiger commented. "Whatya say we come back then, huh?"

"Sounds good to me." Fievel shivered.

"We don't have that kind of time," Lionel replied. "We came for answers and we're gonna get them."

"What are you all afraid of?" Nellie scolded.

They soon heard a howl.

"O-One thing... T-That!" Tiger shivered nervously with his fur standing on end.

A tall, dark-furred canine emerged from the shadows.

"Ah, but you see, that is precisely what we're after," Nellie said to the others. "That rhinestone is the sort of thing we see on human costume jewelry, or on a dog's collar."

"Did you say d-d-dog?!" Tiger gulped.

"Yes, indeed," Nellie clarified. "I have a contact to the Dog High Council, and they meet here in the park every night, you know."

"Must be a quicker and careful way to the Twilight Bark." Atticus commented.

"Or at least an upgraded version." Lionel replied.

Tiger soon fainted with Tony, Fievel, and Cherry still on his back.

"Get him off of me!" Cherry muffled.

Atticus soon lifted up Tiger to help them get away from the fainting cat.

"Watch where you faint, bud." Lionel commented.

"Poor Tiger." Atticus sighed to the cat.

"Whatya say we go the rest of the way on foot?" Tony suggested.

"What are you doing here?" The dog who came out growled to them slightly.

"Easy, boy," Cherry said, now used to canines due to her misadventures with Cathleen. "We're just passing through. No need to get barking mad."

"Yeah. We come in peace, see?" Lionel added. "Name's Joe Fixit, and these are my colleagues."

"Joe Fixit?" Cherry raised an eyebrow. "I guess at least it's not Tim Taylor."

"Anyways, we're looking for some info," Lionel explained. "Specifically about this rhinestone we found today."

"We're with Ms. Brie, Mr... Uh..." Atticus added.

"You may call me Lone Woof." The dog replied.

"Right, um, do you recognize this rhinestone?" Atticus asked, holding out the rhinestone to let him observe it.

Lone Woof blinked. "Where did you find it?" he asked.

"An old house in Carnersville after we were attacked by... Uh..." Nellie replied.

"By the Manhattan Monster." Lone Woof concluded.

"What is it?" Nellie asked. "How can we stop it?!"

"The Dog High Council has no interest in the problems of other species, I must go." Lone Woof said before going to leave.

"Hey! Get back here, Mutt!" Cherry glared until Atticus covered her mouth.

"Yeah, well ol' Joe Fixit ain't gonna forget this, bub." Lionel shot as Lone Woof left.

"I worry about you two sometimes." Atticus face-pawed.

"Whatever." Lionel, now Fixit, replied.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Brie." Atticus said to the mouse woman.

"I'm not giving up," Nellie replied as she went to follow after the dog. "Wait! Hold on just a minute!"

Lone Woof turned back to face her.

"If you don't lend a hand, When a hand needs lending, Who will?~" Nellie began to sing.

"If you don't help your friends when they need befriending, who will?~" Lionel added.

Lone Woof just looked at all of them.

"When nothing goes right, And everything's wrong~," Fievel and Darla soon sang together. "When the days are too cold, And the nights are too long~"

"If you won't be there to stand and be strong~" Cherry even began to sing along despite hating songs.

"Who will?~" Atticus and Lionel both sang.

"If you don't risk your neck, When a risk needs takin', Who will?~" Tony soon joined in. "If you don't break the rules, When the rules need breakin', Who will?, You've gotta be tough~"

"And forthright and square,~" Nellie added.

"You can't hide your head~" Tiger joined in. "And pretend you're not there!~"

Lone Woof shook his head and went to keep leaving them.

"If we don't fight for what's right and what's fair, Who will?~" Darla and Fievel sang.

They all soon chased after Lone Woof in the grass as he looked uninterested in helping them.

"Everyone has a hero hiding deep inside~" Nellie continued. "Waiting to appear, But there is no time left to hide; The moment is now, the place is here!~"

"Who will risk life and limb, Just to help a stranger?, I will~" Tony sang.

"Who will walk through the dark, Even though there's danger?, I will~" Fievel added.

"Who'll stay by your side?~" asked Darla.

"And take up the cause?~" Tony added.

"Who'll give you his strength, his heart, and his paws?~" came Tiger.

"Who'll be your back-up?~" asked Atticus.

"Your buddy?~" Lionel chimed in.

"Your friend?~" Fievel continued.

"We will~" Everyone soon concluded.

"Fievel."

"And Nellie."

"And Tony."

"And Tiger."

"And Atticus."

"And Cherry."

"And Darla."

"And Lionel."

"We will~" They all soon concluded.

* * *

"Aaaand scene!" Lionel panted. "I think we did pretty good, everyone."

"That was a very sweet song to help solidify the gift that is friendship." Atticus smiled.

"For the love of chub..." Cherry muttered.

"Don't make it any schmaltzier than it already is, Fudo." Lionel remarked.

"Hey, I can't help it, it's just how I am," Atticus replied. "So, uh, whatya say, Lone Woof?"

"Even in the darkest night, you can always find a sign," Lone Woof replied. "Depending on wherever you look. In your case, the help you seek will come from above."

"Thanks for the advice." Lionel replied.

"And now, I must go." Lone Woof said before he soon left them alone again.

"See ya..." Lionel shrugged as Lone Woof vanished into the night.

"Oh, listen here, I don't need a Theology Lesson!" Nellie glared. "I need-"

"You need a new snitch." Tony said to her.

"Yeah. Hate to say it, but Lone Woof wasn't much help." Lionel added.

"Who does he think he is, Ace the Bat Hound?" Cherry deadpanned.

"Eh, sounds more like a dog version of Don LaFontaine," Lionel replied. "That guy with the deep voice who used to narrate movie trailers."

"I know, but just his darkness and behavior makes me think of Ace." Cherry replied.

"I don't understand..." Nellie sighed. "He's usually so much more-"

"Wait!" Fievel piped up before pointing up to a tree that had a poster. "That's what he meant by a sign from above."

"Perceptive." Lionel remarked.

"A lost dog, huh? This is starting to make more sense than I imagined." Cherry commented as the lost dog looked quite familiar.

"Definitely." Lionel nodded.

Atticus soon flew up as he still had his powers and took the poster. "We should show this to Mr. Daley." he then suggested.

"Hmm... Good idea." Lionel nodded.

Atticus soon grabbed the poster and came back down.

"Who are you, some kind of mighty mouse?" Nellie asked him.

"Eh... Super mouse if you wanna go by that." Atticus smiled bashfully.

"More like a Mondo Mouse." Lionel added.

They soon came down to the journalism office.

* * *

It was a busy day in the news room now as they had the flyer for the lost dog who looked like Madame Mousey.

"We're back, everyone!" Lionel called out.

"What's new now?" Reed asked.

"Check this out." Cherry said, showing the poster.

"Looks almost like that goofy dog who we saw a couple days ago." Atticus remarked.

"Hmm... Fascinating stuff, you guys... I better get right to work." Reed said before he started barking orders to the others.

"That's the last tip I take from HER!" Tony remarked.

Fievel began to draw on the poster after Nellie told him to.

"It has to be Mousey," Cherry said. "What other poodles are wandering around? As for that other dog, I'm not sure... Tolmin or something like that."

"Tolansky," Tony replied. "Those two gave me that tip. Whaddya figure of 'im?"

"That Mousey is the missing dog, and she's up to something." Cherry narrowed her eyes.

"And that goes for Tolansky, too." Atticus added.

Tanya soon came over with strips of a newspaper.

"Whatcha got for me, kid?" Reed asked her once he saw her.

Tanya just stared at him with a sappy smile on her face.

"Kid?" Reed called.

"That house was owned by the Public Works chief and his wife until they moved out six months ago." Tanya explained.

"So?" Reed replied.

"So, the wife is also the owner of the dog in the poster!" Tanya explained.

"Bingo! Moving day comes and the mutt takes a powder!" Reed smirked before nudging her. "Nice work, sweetheart."

Tanya blushed at that.

"Move it, boys! We got a paper to put out!" Reed called out before he came to Fievel and the others. "Okay, Team Rembrandt, you're on."

"Well, I drew on the missing dog poster like Nellie said." Fievel replied.

"It's just as I told you, Reed!" Nellie added. "Our mysterious Madame is a match for the missing mutt!"

"Once again, that's the last time I take a tip from HER!" Tony remarked.

"What?!" The others asked him.

"Well, uh, yeah..." Tony replied. "She was the one who told me to check out that old house, when you... Almost... Oh, how could I be so stupid?!"

"Practice?" Nellie deadpanned.

"Lay off, Brie," Lionel remarked. "At least Tony still knows how to have fun. At least he hasn't become a totally different rodent... Unlike SOME mice." he glanced at Tanya for that last line.

Tanya gave a small glance from that.

"Nellie, I need your story in ten minutes." Reed said before walking off.

"I thought you might." Nellie smirked, showing that it was already done.

"Okay then, let's get to it." Atticus remarked.

"News hound, get that ink over on the press!" Reed demanded.

"I'm goin'! I'm goin'!" Tony replied as he carried the ink well.

"By the way, kids, you can stay." Reed then said to Fievel and his friends.

"Alright." Lionel replied.

"And what about me, Reed?" Nellie smirked.

"I'll let ya know after I read your article." Reed smirked back as he walked off.

"Well, it wasn't a no." Lionel remarked.

"Nellie, how come Mr. Daley is always so mean to you?" Fievel asked.

"Well, it only sounds that way; he's really crazy about me," Nellie clarified. "Poor thing, it upsets him terribly. You see?"

"Not really." Darla commented.

"He masks his feelings behind a professional attitude." Lionel explained.

"Grown-ups are weird." Fievel replied.

"Ain't that the truth?" Lionel nodded.

Reed was soon going over the papers as everyone met together in suspense.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, in the sewers..._**

Many of the cats were shown to be asleep as the mice were all locked up in cages. One of the rodents tried to pull the lock off, but one cat stopped him from doing so as three cats arrived back in the sewers, pushing the destroyed "monster". The cats soon woke up once they heard that.

"Oh, why did I get myself into this?" A yellow cat sulked to himself, wearing a purple vest and a matching hat. "I've done lots of things in my life, but this is probably the lowest of the low."

"Hey, we gotta do what's necessary for survival." Another cat replied.

"I guess so..." The cat said. "I gotta get a way for us outta here."

The other cats soon complained as they came in with the 'monster' at paw. One cat was soon licking himself as they brought in the monster before it crashed down on them.

"Hey, Twitch, what happened?" asked one cat.

"You wanna know what happened?" Another cat replied. "I'll tell ya what happened! WE GOT BAMBOOZLED IS WHAT HAPPENED! Bushwhacked! By a bunch of merely mountain mice!"

The other cats soon looked in concern from that.

"And you wanna know why this happened?" The cat then continued. "I'll tell ya why! Cuz Fifi there had another one of her high-polluted plans!"

Tolansky growled angrily at that, and the crowd parted to reveal Mousey.

"Which would've worked if you bunglers had followed orders!" she countered.

"Is that so?" Twitch glared. "Well, ya won't have to put up with us anymore, Curly, 'cuz we're done playin' 'Fetch'! It's time the doggies took a walk."

"Ya know, you're really trying my patience here," Mousey scoffed. "You can't fix the machine without our help."

"Wake up and smell the catnip, Mousy," Twitch glared. "I'm sayin' we don't need your machine or your help! No, see, we already got Mousy's sewer map, right?" he then asked his fellow cats.

"You stinking, flea-bitten turncoats!" Tolansky growled. "I got a good mind to rip you all apart!"

"Ah, you can try, but there's so many of us and only two of youse mutts." Twitch smirked.

"Just means there's more of you to tear apart." Tolansky growled, standing defensively in front of Mousey.

"Bring it on then, we don't need your little Madame Mousy anymore." Twitch smirked.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong," Tolansky chuckled. "What about that reporter dame, Nellie Brie?"

"What about her?" Twitch huffed.

"Right now she's probably writing about how the monster is a phoney," Tolansky explained. "And once it gets out, you lose the element of surprise, and those rodents will fight back." he then turned to face Mousey. "I did good this time, right?"

"Oh, you sure did, I knew there was a reason why I loved you so~" Mousey cooed to him out of thanks.

Tolansky giggled gleefully as he wagged his tail.

"Suck-up." Twitch muttered to Tolansky.

"Better a suck-up than a failure," Tolansky remarked. "And naturally, this Nellie Brie is a problem. Lucky for us, Mousey here has an idea to get rid of this problem."

"Yeah! So you best stay on my good side if ya know what's good for ya." Mousey added with a smirk.

Tolansky nodded obediently at this as Mousey began discussing her plan.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the office, the papers were finishing up their printing for the night.

"Phew!" Atticus wiped his forehead. "How do Lois and Clark do this all the time?"

"'Cuz it's their job." Lionel replied.

"Oh, well, I'm a pretty good helper for 'Uncle Clark'." Atticus smiled.

"Ya know, I don't think I've ever heard the stories of when you guys first met Batman and Superman." Lionel said to Cherry and Atticus.

"It's a riddle for the ages..." Cherry said mysteriously.

"Ah, well," Lionel shrugged. "I guess it's not that important."

"Eh, you'll probably find out someday," Cherry replied before narrowing her eyes. "As long as that awful Catwoman isn't involved... I really wanted to like that movie... Patience Phillips? Really?"

"That was the lamest thing ever," Lionel replied. "Total disservice to the Catwoman title."

"Ugh! Thank you!" Cherry agreed. "How could you mess up Catwoman for me, movie people?!"

"They wanted to change it and make it their own," Lionel replied sarcastically. "Fun fact: the original draft actually DID involve Selina Kyle as the protagonist."

"Don't mess with Aunt Selina..." Cherry said darkly as her own feline instincts came out. "YOU DON'T MESS WITH AUNT SELINA'S NAME!"

"She scares me sometimes when she gets like that." Atticus replied as he came to see Reed once he did his part.

"Hot dog linked to Manhattan Monster: Seer Suckered Us All," Reed read from a freshly-printed copy of the paper. "Not bad if I do say so myself... And I do."

"Of course." Atticus smirked playfully.

"Ladies and gents, consider this paper put to bed," Reed smiled which made them all cheer out of excitement and happiness. "Now I suggest all the same for you."

"Oh, happy day!" Darla beamed for the mice.

Everyone bade each other good-night as they got going and began heading home.

"Oh, Mr. Daley, that was amazing," Tanya smiled. "You put that whole paper together in just a few hours!"

"Yep," Reed smiled back. "Reminds me of my field corespondent days back in The Civil War. Heh, really gets your heart pumpin', huh?"

"Oh, yes~" Tanya smiled dreamily.

"So much for not having a crush." Lionel smirked.

Tanya glanced over, seeing the others smirking at her.

"Go home, kid, it's late." Reed suggested.

"Oh, no, Mr. Daley, I can stay as long as you need me," Tanya replied before blushing. "I mean... To help! Tidy up..."

"I'm gonna go find Tiger and tell him I'm a reporter!" Tony smiled to Reed out of excitement.

"Good on ya, man," Lionel nodded. "And Tanya, you need your shut-eye if you're gonna be at your most productive tomorrow."

"Would you like me to walk you home?" Nellie asked Fievel. "It is late, you know."

"Aw, I'll be okay, Nellie." Fievel smiled softly.

"Yeah, we can do it," Lionel replied. "See you all tomorrow."

"There's nothing to be scared of," Nellie soothed Fievel. "Sometimes, it's fear that saves us from doing something foolish."

"You mean like making an animated Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie with Tom & Jerry inserted too soon after the death of Gene Wilder?" Cherry deadpanned.

"Yeah, that was terrible," Lionel replied. "To be honest, I think they should've just stopped with the Tom & Jerry DTV stuff after 'The Magic Ring'."

"Uh, anyway... Now remember, Mousey and that whatsit of hers is still lurking about out there, so keep your eyes open, eh?" Nellie then continued before she went to get herself back home.

"Will do!" Lionel saluted as Nellie left.

Nellie smiled to that as she soon went back to her own home.

* * *

And so, they began to leave to go back home as the full moon was out.

"Keep your eyes open... It's okay to be scared..." Fievel said to himself.

Suddenly, an alarm rang out, jolting Fievel out of his stupor.

"That don't sound too good..." Lionel remarked.

"I swear, if this is a bank robbery..." Cherry muttered about a typical superhero cliché.

They soon took a look and it was far worse than a bank robbery.

"Mama! Papa!" Fievel cried out.

The Mousekevitz house had been destroyed, and Fievel's family was missing.

"The creeps who did this are gonna PAY...!" Lionel growled.

The mice were soon all running around in a panic.

"I better put out the fire." Atticus said as he went ahead of them like the superhero he wanted to be.

"Hey, don't go hogging all the action!" Lionel snapped, grabbing Atticus by the tail and yanking him back. "We're a team, so we're ALL putting it out together, Mr. Bigshot!"

"Can you put out a fire by breathing on it?" Atticus muttered with a slight glance to him.

"Better than that," Lionel replied. "I can just absorb the flames like a sponge!"

"Yeah, Nancy, give someone else a chance to save the day." Cherry commented.

"Okay, okay." Atticus said.

"Alright, it's go time!" Lionel remarked. "Split up and fan out, everyone!"

"Right!" Cherry and Atticus agreed.

"Split up?" Darla asked Lionel. "Are you sure?"

"We'll be able to cover more ground and help more with the fire that way." Lionel explained.

They all then split up.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Also, RustyPete12, I'm not sure if Tolansky is parodying anything or not, he's Scrappy Doo Fan's OC, so maybe he can tell ya for me.**

* * *

Fievel turned around and heard crying and went to go over to it and saw a certain mouse girl. "Olivia?"

"Oh... Fievel!" Olivia cried and soon hugged him. "It's terrible! My father was taken! The worst part is that this has happened before!"

"Oh... Olivia..." Fievel gasped, hugging her to try and console her.

Olivia sniffled and soon hugged Fievel right back as she began to cry since her father was gone like when Ratigan took him away from her and she had to go and find Basil for help.

"C'mon, Five, you get Olivia outta here," Lionel advised. "We'll take care of the fire."

"Okay... Come on, Olivia." Fievel nodded.

Olivia soon followed Fievel, holding paws together so that they could get to safety.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lionel, Atticus, Darla, and Cherry did their best to put a stop to the roaring fires going on around the area, and in a few minutes, the flames were extinguished. Cherry wiped her forehead once the fire was taken care of.

"I guess all that fire safety you had as a kid with mass hysteria over paid off." Atticus teased Cherry.

"Time for jokes later," Lionel advised. "Any clues in the wreckage?"

"Hmm... Let's see..." Atticus said before using his telescopic vision. "Some burnt clothes and food... This fire was no accident though. Someone did this."

"Yeah, no kidding," Lionel remarked. "Question is, who was it?"

"Time for Detective Fudo to get on the case." Atticus said before taking out his magnifying glass.

"Yeah, and us too." Lionel remarked.

Atticus soon picked up a strand of fur and examined it as it was a clue.

"Find anythin', Poirot?" asked Lionel.

"Hmm... There appears to be some fur, but it doesn't look like it belongs to a mouse." Atticus informed.

"So... Then what kind of fur IS it?" Darla wondered.

"If I'm not mistaken, it's from a dog." Atticus narrowed his eyes.

"Then it _was_ Mousey!" Lionel exclaimed. "We better get going and find her lair!"

"Shouldn't be too hard to find," Atticus glared. "I knew I couldn't trust that psycho poodle."

"She and Tolansky are planning something for sure," Darla said. "I overheard them when they were talking with Tony and Tiger."

"Then let's hurry and find them!" Lionel replied.

"They could be anywhere by now!" Cherry added. "Let's make like a tree and get outta here!"

Everyone nodded, and exited.

"Uh... Isn't the phrase 'Make like a tree and leave'?" Darla asked.

"Don't question it, Darla." Atticus replied.

"Yeah, it's just how Cherry is," Lionel added. "But I like it!"

"I don't know much about this Tolansky guy, but he must be Mousey's little right hand pet." Cherry suggested.

"Sorta like Alonzo to Cruella." Atticus muttered.

"I dunno who that Alonzo mook is, but yeah, you have the right idea," Lionel nodded.

"Cruella's driver," Atticus said. "Pretty much more of a lackey than Horace and Jasper themselves."

"I see..." Lionel nodded.

"Anyway, I smell a rat... Make that a rat dog..." Atticus smirked. "Come on, guys."

Everyone nodded, and rushed off.

"Guys? Guys!" Fievel called out as he was with Olivia.

"Yeah, Five?" Lionel asked.

"There you guys are." Fievel frowned.

"We thought ye left us." Olivia added.

"As if we'd do _that_ to ya," Lionel scoffed. "Now c'mon. Methinks this mystery is just about solved!"

"I can't find anyone anywhere." Fievel frowned about his family being gone.

"Well, I think we might know where they were taken." Lionel explained.

"Really?" Fievel and Olivia asked.

"Yes, perhaps you should come with us." Cherry suggested.

The two mice looked at each other, then nodded as they followed behind. They then stealthed around as they had a new place to visit. Someone began to follow them which worried Fievel and Olivia.

"THE MONSTER!" The young mice cried out before running from the frightening looking shadow.

"Five! FIVE!" Lionel yelled. "It's just Tiger... Relax, man."

"Tiger?" Fievel replied.

"It's okay, kiddo," Cherry said. "No need to panic. Tiger's not gonna hurt ya, after all, you guys are a duo."

"I saw the m-monster..." Fievel stammered.

"Monster?! Where?!" Tiger yelped, his eyes darting around wildly.

"Philly! Livvy!" Tony called out, panting heavily.

"Tony, the monster-I mean Madame Mousey-They-She-They got my family!" Fievel cried out.

"I know!" Tony replied. "Mousey's gone nuts with that monster of hers! Whatever it is... All over town, she's grabbin' mice like it was a fire sale!"

"With a big emphasis on the fire part." Lionel added.

Tiger looked like he was going to leave.

"Tiger, we can't stop Mousey by ourselves, we need help!" Fievel told his feline best friend. "You got to go to the dogs!"

"D-D-D-D-D-Who...?" Tiger blinked.

"That's right!" Tony told him.

"You gotta go and find that Lone Woof character and get him to the hideout!" Lionel explained.

"I'm a cat, ya know, a feline," Tiger reminded. "Dogs and I, we just don't-"

"Tiger, you're the only one who can get there fast enough!" Fievel replied.

"Yes, well, that might be, but-" Tiger replied.

"Tiger, you have to go through with it," Darla said. "Lone Woof knows you, and if you help us, you won't be just helping us, it'll be the future of mousekind for everybody! Please, Tiger, we need you! You're our only hope!"

"Besides, Lone Woof knows who you are." Lionel added.

"He _d-d-does_?!" Tiger yelped.

"Sure, back in the park, remember?" Tony asked. "Course, you WAS unconscious for most of that..."

"Sometimes I think it's better that way." Tiger replied.

"Tiger!" Darla called.

"WHAT?!" Tiger replied.

"Tiger, you really have to do this, it's about the fate of mice everywhere!" Darla told him.

"D'oh... Fine..." Tiger sighed reluctantly.

"It'll be all right, Tiger, I promise you." Atticus reassured.

"Okay... Central Park... Here I come..." Tiger replied as he turned around and headed off.

"Maybe I should go with him?" Atticus suggested.

"Good thinking." Lionel replied.

"All right," Atticus said. "You all be careful. I'll be back."

"Atticus?" Darla frowned out of worry.

"Yeah, little sis?" asked Atticus as he turned to face her.

"What if you don't come back?" Darla frowned.

"Darla, don't think like that." Atticus frowned back.

"Of course they're gonna come back." Lionel replied.

"Listen, kid, it'll be all right," Atticus told Darla. "I'm your big brother, and I promised I would never let anything hurt you. So stay here with the others, and I'll go with Tiger."

"Ohh... Okay." Darla replied.

Atticus soon gave Darla a hug before he would leave with Tiger to help comfort her.

"Now get moving," Lionel stated. "You got yourself a mission."

"All right," Atticus said. "Cherry, take good care of Darla for me."

"Sure thing." Cherry replied.

Atticus nodded and soon went to leave with Tiger. "To Central Park!" he then proclaimed.

And Tiger and Atticus took off into the night. Darla soon waved with a soft sigh, feeling worried about Atticus already.

"Come on, Dimples, we gotta go." Cherry told the former child star.

"So now, what do we do?" Tony asked.

"Find my family!" Fievel narrowed his eyes.

* * *

As the mice panicked and ran about the scene, the group snuck over to Mousey's caravan. Tony managed to pick the lock and get them inside. They soon took a look around and it seemed like a typical fortune teller's hideout.

"Somethin' really smells about this place." Tony commented.

"I know what ya mean." Fievel said as he found a crystal ball.

"Yeah, and the fragrance happens to be Eau de Baloney." Lionel added.

"Hold on!" Cherry replied as she suddenly had an idea. "It's that phony baloney dogbane stuff that Mousy was trying to sell to those mice to protect 'em from the Night Monster!"

"No kiddin'!" Lionel remarked. "But it also reeks... Like a sewer pipe, like that one from the old house."

"Remember what Tanya said?" Fievel smiled. "Madame Mousey's owner was the wife of the public work's chief!"

"So?" Tony replied.

"So that means he's the guy in charge of sewers!" Fievel clarified.

Lionel spotted a nearby trap door under the table and lifted it up. "And this, no doubt, is her doorway." he remarked.

"Trap door... Classic." Cherry commented.

They all looked down and saw a long pipe leading down to the sewer.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tiger and Atticus ended up in Central Park.

"Eh... Yoo-hoo... Dogs... Anybody home?" Tiger asked as he climbed onto a fountain.

"Come on out, we're not gonna hurt ya!" Atticus added.

But nobody said anything back.

"Oh, well... Must be their night off." Tiger shrugged as he leaned back to the fountain.

" **WHO GOES THERE?!** " A voice demanded.

Tiger yelped and then fell into the water.

"It is I, Atticus, with Tiger," Atticus replied. "Show yourselves, O High Council of Dogs."

At this, the dogs emerged from the shadows.

"S-So... M-Many...!" Tiger gulped in abject terror.

"How dare you defile the sacred fountain?!" A dog glared at Tiger.

"Listen, sorry about that, but we gotta talk." Atticus replied.

"You are a cat and a mouse," The dog sneered. "A shifty and unworthy eater of mice and cheese."

"No, no," Atticus replied. "Tiger would never eat a mouse."

"Yeah, I like mice," Tiger explained before backpedaling. "Um, er, not in the way that you're thinking, I mean I don't like to eat mice-"

" **SILENCE!** " The dog snapped at both of them.

Tiger fell to his knees. "Oh, please, I didn't even WANNA come here, honest, but the mice, see, they need help!" he explained frantically.

"We have no interest in the affairs of mice." Another dog sneered.

"You're supposed to help us out!" Atticus glared. "What is wrong with you mutts?!"

The dogs just snarled at them, and Tiger covered his own eyes.

"Okay, fine; chew me to bits, I don't care anymore," The actual rather scaredy cat replied. "You're all nuthin' but a bunch'a bullies, going around, scaring people like that crazy poodle!"

"Yeah!" Atticus added. "You're just as bad as she is!"

"Poodle?!" The other dogs replied once they heard that word.

"Did you say... 'Poodle'?" One of the dog asked.

"Yeah, at least that's what she says she is, looks like an extra medium rat to me." Atticus huffed.

"Hmm... Tell us more..." The lead dog replied out of vast intrigue.


	7. Chapter 7

Meanwhile, back in the sewers, the other group was sneaking through the tunnels, but they hid behind a crack as a cat passed by wheeling a cart filled with caged mice. Cherry looked around and soon walked off with them to save the mice being held hostage.

"Okay, whatcha got?" One cat asked the other.

"A new batch, they're from the basement at Luigi's restaurant." The other cat replied.

"Ever meet Mario and Luigi?" Lionel smirked to Cherry.

"You're hilarious." Cherry deadpanned.

"Just curious, that's all!" Lionel shrugged with a grin.

"Well... No, at least not right now." Cherry replied.

"Hmm... That could be fun for us sometime." Lionel replied.

"Perhaps." Cherry replied as they kept an eye out before she moved ahead of them.

"Hey, you, vith the fish breath!" A voice snapped.

"Fievel, it's your father." Cherry recognized.

"No doubt," Lionel nodded. "I'd recognize that accent anywhere."

"It sure isn't Tevye," Cherry replied before the camera focused on her and she narrowed her eyes. "They're called books, kids. Try picking one up and reading it sometime."

"Heheheh... Fiddler on the Roof." Lionel chuckled to himself.

"Uh... Yeah." Cherry smirked slightly.

"So you think you are tough, scaring vomen and children?" Papa glared to the cats. "Shame on you, shame!"

"Vhat are you doing?" Mama scolded as she carried Yasha. "You _vant_ them to eat you?"

"They're going to eat us anyvay," Papa replied. "Maybe I give them a little indigestion beforehand."

"Well, that's one way to ruin a win." Lionel noted.

"Papa Mousekewitz is a strange man sometimes." Cherry commented from her own experiences.

The cats began to harass the mice held hostage and somehow Yasha, despite being a baby, was able to sleep through all of this.

"Looky what I got here: a combo meal!" Twitch snickered as he held Mama Mousekevitz and Yasha in his claws.

* * *

"How is that baby not awake?!" Cherry complained.

"That does it," Tony snapped. "Let's get 'em!" But before he could charge in, Fievel grabbed him by the tail.

"Tony, use your brain," Darla remarked. "Those cats outnumber us by 20 to one!"

"At least." Cherry then added.

"What's the matta, you guys scared?" Tony glared.

"Well, yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that." Fievel crossed his arms.

"Remember? Fear keeps you from doing something stupid," Lionel replied. "And on the stupidity scale of 1 to 10, charging into an army of cats ranks in at a solid 100."

"They're right," Fievel added. "Doing something dangerous doesn't mean you're brave. Sometimes, it only means you're dumb. If we rush in there without using our heads, we'll get stomped!"

"Yeah, but Philly, your family's out there looking like the catch of the day!" Tony complained.

"Look, I'll go get Nellie; she'll know what to do." Fievel suggested.

"Oh, for cryin' out..." Tony grumbled.

"Look, Tony, use your head." Lionel advised.

"All right, I promise." Tony sighed and rolled his eyes in defeat.

"Good." Fievel nodded before he left.

The cats soon sat with the mice and Top Cat found a group of cats who wanted to join his side for redemption... Slightly anyway, but that's another story. Olivia and Fievel rushed with the others to go and find Nellie at once. There were electrical surges shown which startled some of them.

* * *

"You do realize you're mad... Quite mad!" Nellie's voice was soon heard.

"Oh, I wouldn't say mad..." Mousey chuckled. "More like **STARK RAVING RABID!** " she growled and gnashed her teeth as Tolansky stood to the side.

"The newspaper office!" Darla gasped.

"I don't want any part in this!" Hiram's voice then said.

"Father!" Olivia gasped.

"But... But why?" asked Tanya.

"Why?! Because, my whole life, I have been compared to you vermin!" Mousey explained.

"And I've been by her side for the longest time." Tolansky added.

"Oui, that is true," Mousey nodded before turning back. "But every day, it was: 'oh, she's so cute like a little mouse. Whaddyou feed her, cheese? Mommy, look at the rat on the leash!' I got'cher leash RIGHT here, pal!" she barked and growled angrily.

"Mousey, calm down," Tolansky urged. "Please..."

"Then... Opportunity knocked..." Mousey soon said as she told the mice why she was doing what she was doing. "Moving Day came and a door was left open. I escaped from my owner, and I joined my fellow canines in the park."

"The only thing is, they didn't want you." Nellie replied.

"No! Can you believe it?~" Mousey nodded. "They called me 'Le Dog non Importante, and viola! Here I am. In charge of a bunch of cats instead, but it all worked out, thanks to my little invention with the help of that beloved mouse toy maker, Hiram Flaversham, who was forced to make a robot replica of Queen Mousetoria all the way from London for Professor Ratigan."

"And I helped too!" Tolansky added.

"And what's your story then?" Nellie asked Tolansky. "Where exactly did you come from?"

"Oh! Well, I used to be one of those Dog Park-dwellers, until Mousey came along,. She became the light of my existence," Tolansky reminisced. "When I saw the others reject her, I decided to cut ties with them, and went looking for her."

* * *

"Hello?! Small pink dog? Are you here?" Tolansky called out as he searched through an alley. "I don't want to make trouble, I only wish to talk, dog-to-dog!"

"Who goes there?" Mousey glared as she shivered, feeling cold.

"I am called Tolansky," The dog explained. "And I would like to be your friend... If you'd let me."

"Hmm... How do I know you won't make fun of me because of how different and special I am?" Mousey huffed, turning away from him at first.

"What reason would I have to do that?" asked Tolansky.

"You are just like the other chiens around here..." Mousey huffed as she soon came out, showing herself. "Go ahead, call me a rat, I _know_ you _want_ to!"

Tolansky's eyes lit up. "Why would I call you a rat?" he asked. "You... You're... Beautiful!"

" **I KNEW YOU WOULD-** " Mousey snapped until she realized what he said. "Beautiful?"

"Yeah!" Tolansky nodded.

"Hmm... I don't think I've seen you around here before." Mousey said as she came to Tolansky and examined him.

"Eh, I only started hanging around the park cuz I thought you'd be there." Tolansky explained.

"Hmm... You might be useful to me after all." Mousey smirked.

"R-Really? Me, useful to someone as astonishing as you?!" Tolansky asked in disbelief.

"Well... You do admit I am beautiful, and you do seem like you could use someone like moi~" Mousey smirked to him.

"Oh, most definitely!" Tolansky nodded.

"I think I'm gonna like workin' with ya." Madame Mousey smirked as a partnership was soon born.

* * *

"And that's how it happened!" Tolansky finished, concluding his flashback.

"Fascinatingly despicable." Nellie commented.

"Everyone's a critic." Tolansky shrugged.

"From our misery TO _YOU_!" Mousey grinned darkly.

"The monster." Fievel whispered once he saw the 'Night Monster'.

"Five. Don't lose your nerve, kid," Lionel advised. "Remember: it's not real."

"It's not real..." Fievel tried to tell himself that.

"Exactly! It's fake, phoney, bogus!" Lionel urged.

"It's... It's only a machine..." Fievel said as that seemed to help him out.

"Which I was forced to help put together." Hiram frowned to the Russian mouse boy.

"That too, but still: it's not a real monster." Lionel continued.

"Listen, Mousey, the show is over!" Reed glared at the poodle. "Nobody's gonna buy that monster malarkey after they read The Daily Nibbler!"

"Only, they ain't gonna read it," Mousey smirked, taking the newspaper copy from him. "Ya see, tomorrow, the rodents of New York will wake up to find the offices of the Daily Nibbler have been trashed! And you will be left as remains from the Manhattan Monster! You see, I have thought of every-THIIIIING!" she then yelped as she and Tolansky suddenly got electrocuted.

" **YEEEEEOWWWWW!** " Tolansky howled as both of them were zapped and charred. "I'm... Sorry..." Tolansky grunted before passing out cold.

"Nail that pest!" Twitch called out once he saw Fievel.

Fievel soon ran as the cats began to chase after him.

"Fievel!" Olivia cried out. "Watch out!"

Fievel quickly leapt and dodged to avoid the cats. Cherry soon seemed to take out a giant fly-swatter from her own magic and used it to swat at the cats.

"A fly-swatter?" Darla asked.

"I'm still new to this whole magic thing!" Cherry said before pausing as she thought of something. "Hey, Lionel! Swat Kats!"

Lionel chuckled. "Ohh...I get it!" he replied, conjuring a giant mallet.

Cherry narrowed her eyes, using the fly swatter and one cat soon landed his paw right on her to kill her.

"FOOOOOORE!" Lionel yelled, smacking the cat with a mallet and slamming him into a wall.

"Still trying to work on mallet incarnations." Cherry muttered about her own magic.

"I'd be glad to help!" Lionel called back. "Y'know... After this."

"Ugh, I hope we're not being watched..." Cherry face-palmed. "That just means tutoring."

Darla soon poked her head out and kept hidden. "Oh, what to do?" she asked herself. "What would Atticus do? What would Sailor Moon do?" she then realized something. "Hey, wait a second, I AM Sailor Moon!" she then took out her Moon Staff. "Hmm... I guess technically I would be Sailor Mouse?"

"Well, whatever you plan to do, don't hesitate." Lionel advised.

"Thanks, Lionel." Darla gave a small smile to him.

"No problem." Lionel replied.

"Sailor Moon Power Make-up!" Darla called out and she soon transformed into a mouse version of Sailor Moon before glaring to the cats. "By the order of the power of the moon and my Silver Crystal, I will punish you!"

The cats just laughed at this display.

"Typical," Darla glared. "You're all in big trouble."

"Eh, go play somewhere else, ya little brat." Bootlick scoffed.

"BRAT?!" Darla glared and soon shot her Moon Staff at him, showing the powers it held.

The Staff fired lasers at Bootlick's rear end, making him yelp in pain as he ran off.

"Not bad," Lionel smiled. "So you know Sailor Moon, huh, kid?"

"Uh-huh," Darla smiled back. "I visit Japan all the time to hang out with her and the other Sailor Scouts, especially Sailor V. She's like a big sister to me."

"Whoa... TEYANDEE!" Lionel beamed. "Suppose next time we might be able to tag along. Hopefully character development will make things more tolerable..."

"Mm-hmm." Darla smiled.

Another cat was soon behind Lionel.

"Look out!" Darla cried out as she soon took off her tiara to knock the cat away. "Moon Tiara Boomerang!"

Lionel, remembering what that did in the Sailor Moon pilot episode, quickly retracted his head into his neck to dodge. The cat soon yelped as he got hit before the Moon Tiara came back to Darla and she caught it in her hand. Darla smirked as she successfully took care of that.

"Man, we didn't have ta put up with this when we worked with that miserable Warren T. Rat." The cat complained from the injury he had received.

"Aw, shut up and run!" The other cat remarked.

"Warren T. Rat...?" Darla asked.

"Oh, yeah, Fievel's first enemy," Cherry replied. "Claimed he was a rat, but he was just a big fat cat. At least that plan wasn't as silly as Cat R. Waul trying to make everyone into Mouseburgers... That was just strange."

"Not to mention dumb," Lionel added. "Even if I wasn't there. How the heck did he even plan on doing THAT?"

"I have no idea..." Cherry sweat-dropped.

"Exactly. Ergo, stupid." Lionel replied.

The yellow cat soon came to them and Cherry looked ready to fight. "Don't, I don't wanna fight you." he then told them.

"Huh?" asked Lionel.

"Hey, I might be a concat, but even I have standards." The yellow cat smirked.

"Oh... Fine," Lionel replied. "Then get going."

"Allow me to come with you." The yellow cat replied.

"Do we know you...?" Cherry asked.

"I don't think so," The yellow cat replied. "Top Cat's the name."

Lionel rolled his eyes. "...Fine."

"If you're not gonna hurt us, why are you here?" Cherry asked.

"I was lookin' for new friends to start a gang with," Top Cat replied. "Maybe find some cats I could call a family."

"Oh. Sounds alright." Lionel replied.

"I should've known better than to trust a rat dog." Top Cat muttered about Mousey.

"Yeah, no kidding." replied a blue cat named Benny.

"Well, if you help us out with Madame Mousy, we'll help you guys out of here and you can start all over." Cherry suggested.

"Consider it done, done, done!" Top Cat replied.

Cherry gave a small smile to him. "Round up all of your friends."

Top Cat nodded and soon brought out his group of friends which seemed to be like all colors of the rainbow: a blue cat named Benny, a pink cat named Choo-Choo, an orange cat named Brain, a brown cat named Fancy-Fancy, and a green cat named Spook.

"This seems like it might be an interesting adventure." Cherry commented about Top Cat and his friends.

"Maybe." Lionel replied.

They soon left with the colored cats while Fievel kept running away while being chased. Olivia was soon in the same boat as she screamed, not feeling this scared since that incident she had with Ratigan and Big Ben.

* * *

"Keep running!" Lionel advised.

A cat soon cornered Olivia and Fievel.

"Hey, Cat..." Cherry said before gasping and pointing. "What the hell is that?!"

"What?!" The cat asked, turning his head before hitting it and knocking himself out.

Lionel snorted. "Snoogan."

"Boy, that is one dumb cat." Fievel smirked.

"Behind ya!" Olivia gasped once she looked over.

Fievel soon took Olivia's paw and ran with her as Twitch came out. The two mouselets leapt off a springboard and narrowly dodged Twitch's jaws as he fell and crashed in a pile of junk.

"They look so adorable together." Cherry commented about Fievel and Olivia.

"Yeah." Lionel agreed.

Bootlick drooled before Fievel and Olivia and soon pounced for them as they soon ran off. The two kids ran over to their friends.

"Tanya..!" Fievel exclaimed, giving his older sister a hug.

Tanya, for once during this whole adventure, looked happy to see her brother.

"Glad ya dropped by, Rembrandt." Reed smirked, patting Fievel on the head.

"C'mon! Get this thing movin'!" Twitch grumbled to Bootlick and another cat.

Hiram seemed to sneak off.

"Ugh... Where's that genius mouse now?" Twitch glared. "Ah, whatever, we'll do it without him!"

Hiram soon came out and hugged Olivia once they were both reunited at last.

"Aw..." Lionel smiled.

The cats then started the machine monster to continue to wreak havoc anyway.

"Whoa! Look out!" Cherry told the others so that they could get out of the way.

Everyone leapt aside. The cats glared as they came after in the Manhattan Monster that came with a buzz-saw. Everyone soon kept running as this wasn't a good thing.

"Where's Atticus when I need him?!" Cherry complained.

Lionel quickly pulled her out of the way as she narrowly dodged getting sliced to pieces.

"Maybe we can lose them in the newspaper office." Fievel pondered.

"Do let's try." Nellie replied in a grammatically confusing manner.

Tony was soon climbing over a pipe and looked down. "Oh, I don't like this... Fievel and the others should've been back by now." he then sighed to himself, seeing the cats with the mice.

And of course, the cats were planning on beginning their mouse banquet early.

"Hey, you know the rules!" One of the other cats scolded. "No eating the inventory!"

"Who's gonna tell on us? You?" Another cat smirked, sheathing his claws.

"Me? Uh-uh, no way," the cat replied nervously. "Eat hearty, fellas!"

The cats then grinned hungrily.

"Oh, man! Promise or no, I gotta-" Tony gasped before hitting his head against a valve. "Ow! Hey... 'Emergency Release Valve'..." He then smiled once he knew what he had to do and began to turn the valve.

The cats soon carried the crate with the Mousekewitz parents with Baby Yasha and threw away the lock to eat them first.

"Mama! Yasha! No!" Papa cried out.

"Papa!" Mama yelled as she and Yasha dangled from a cat's clutch.

Without them knowing, the water levels were beginning to rise up.

"Hey, lookie, I got the combo meal." A cat smirked as he took Mama and Yasha.

Yasha soon bit onto his paw.

"That's my baby!" Papa smiled proudly.

"Then say bye-bye, Daddy." The cat holding him glared, about to eat him.

But just then, the water levels rose and the cats were swept away.

"I'm comin', Mr. M!" Tony called out as he swam out to Papa to help him. He pulled Papa onto the top of the cage, which was now floating.

"Tony, did you do all this?" asked Mama.

"Sure!" Tony replied. "Figured if there's 1 thing cats hate more'n getting hungry, it's getting wet!"

"Atticus! Where the heck are ya?!" Cherry was starting to panic.

Papa soon told the others to unlock their crates and swim for their lives as the cats were gone.

"Tony! Where's Fievel?" Mama asked frantically.

"Relax, Mrs. M, I'm sure he's fine!" Tony smiled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Fievel, Lionel, and Olivia were running from the machine.

' **WE ARE NOT FINE!** " Lionel shouted.

"Run 'em down!" Twitch called out.

Tanya soon ran with her brother and the others as this looked like the end.

"And they say Tom & Jerry was a violent cat and mouse chase." Cherry commented.

Lionel rolled his eyes. "Please. It wasn't THAT violent, now it's just monotonous." he grabbed Fievel and Olivia and used his tail to bounce out of the machine's path.

Fievel and Olivia looked both surprised and thankful for Lionel's help.

"All right!" Cherry beamed to that.

"Reed, I hope this works." Nellie said as she worked with her partner on a way to get rid of the cats.

"It better!" Reed replied.

"Better get it started, then." Top Cat suggested.

The two mice looked over.

"No worries, I won't hurt ya." Top Cat smiled.

"Good," Lionel called down. "Now go for it!"

Fievel, Olivia, and Tanya soon shut the door behind them until they heard the buzz saw which worried them as Nellie and Reed went back to work.

"I hope this works..." Nellie said to herself.

"It better...!" Reed replied.

The monster machine was soon breaking through the door as Nellie aimed her device with Reed as he stood beside the buttons.

"Ready when you are!" Lionel shouted as he ran through.

"I'd prefer sooner than later!" Cherry added.

"Just about ready for you all!" Nellie told them.

He, Tanya and Fievel ducked for cover as the monster sliced its way through the door.

"Now!" Nellie shouted as Reed fired the tube. It shot into the air, and hit the monster head-on before it exploded, leaving the cats charred and burnt.

"Ooh... Burnt cat." Cherry grimaced.

"Did we get 'em all?" Reed called out.

"A-yup!" Lionel replied.

"Nope." Twitch smirked as he soon came up to Reed and Nellie.

"Run, Nellie!" Reed called out as he stabbed Twitch in the paw with a pen.

" **EEEYOWWW!** " Twitch shrieked as he clutched his throbbing paw.

Reed went to go until Twitch swatted him against the wall with his paw.

"Reed!" Nellie cried out then.

"Don't worry, girly, I'll take good care of both of ya." Twitch smirked as he put his other paw down on her skirt.

Lionel hopped up, grabbed Twitch by the tail, grew shark teeth, and bit down hard with a CHOMP! Twitch soon yowled out of pain as that hurt a whole lot.

"You know what they say: sometimes you hafta do the bite thing!" Lionel joked.

Twitch growled as he was in pain and that joke annoyed him.

"Hey, Cat, what's your problem?" Fievel smirked. "I thought you guys always landed on your feet!"

"Ooh, now he's the cheeky one." Cherry smirked to that.

"I'm so proud!" Lionel remarked.

Twitch soon began to chase after Fievel, but the young mouse was being cool about the situation now.

"Fievel, wh-what are you doing?!" Nellie yelped.

"I do believe he has a plan." Lionel remarked.

"I really hope so unless he goes through Atticus's phase of being stupid or suicidal." Cherry replied.

"Jeez, Cherry, he's only a little kid!" Lionel remarked, mortified.

Cherry let out a small shrug with her own dark comedy routine.

"Seriously, that's messed up," Lionel replied. "There's darkly funny, and then there's just sick and twisted."

"Okay, sorry!" Cherry replied. "It's not like he heard me anyway!"

"Maybe think about it before you say it." Lionel replied.

Cherry just shrugged as Fievel let Twitch chase him on purpose.

* * *

"C'mon... You little RAT..." Twitch scowled as he slunk around the lettering department. "Ya can't hide forever!"

"Maybe you better spell it out for me!" Fievel smirked before moving down a shelf of letters off of the table and onto Twitch.

Twitch tried to jump up before the shelf landed on him with the letters. "I am LOSING MY PATIENCE HERE!" Twitch growled as he lunged for Fievel.

Fievel soon ran as Twitch began to chase after him. Fievel soon ran out the door and then slammed it shut on Twitch's paw which throbbed in pain and he yelled out from that.

"Ya little stinkin'!" Twitch growled once he got out of the door.

Fievel ran towards the printing press, before Twitch grabbed his tail.

"Alright... Now I'm gonna handle this the old-fashioned way: I'm gonna EAT'CHA!" Twitch grinned.

"Fievel!" Olivia cried out.

Fievel managed to get free and soon grabbed onto a lever and his weight pulled it down.

"Huh?" Twitch blinked as the printing press soon started up.

Suddenly, Twitch was yanked into the machine by his tail. Cherry took a look before cringing as that looked like a family unfriendly demise. Twitch yelled out in both pain and misfortune as he was taken for a ride on the printing press.

"Eh, don't worry. It's a kids cartoon, which means he won't die, he'll just be comically flattened, battered and bruised." Lionel replied.

"That happened to me once." Darla commented.

"Yeah, that was kinda funny at the time." Cherry replied.

"Sorry." Lionel shrugged.

Twitch muffled as he was stuck where he was, but no one was going to help him out. He was soon packaged into a newspaper bundle and put on a cart. Tanya and Nellie were soon seen helping out Reed.

"Fievel?" Tanya gently called.

"I'm okay." Fievel smiled.

"No kidding!" Lionel replied. "You done did it again!"

"At least Fievel can tell his kids he's had an exciting childhood." Cherry smirked.

"Fun fact: the original film was supposed to end showing a 107-year-old Fievel telling his grandchildren the film's events during 1986." Lionel explained.

"Really now?" Cherry replied.

"Yeah. They kept it in the novelization (which SDF read when he was in 3rd grade)". Lionel replied.

"Hmm..." Cherry commented. "Fascinating."

"Ain't it though?" Lionel replied.

They were soon met with more cats.

"Oh, great, just what we need, more cats." Cherry complained.

"More beatings to administer!" Lionel replied.

"Cat! Cat! And Double Cat!" Cherry complained, quoting the first American Tail movie.

* * *

"Hakuna Matata, Cherry." Atticus said as he soon came over.

"About time you showed up." Lionel remarked. "And after all the action is over!"

"Don't worry, we had to get a little extra help to take care of the cats," Atticus replied. "Okay, guys, come on out!"

Eventually, the High Council of Dogs came out to finish off the cats for good. The cats yelped and ran away, as Tolansky stood in front of Mousey defensively.

"I ain't here to mess around!" Tiger glared to them, trying to be brave.

"Way to go, Tigre." Lionel remarked.

Mousey and Tolanksy soon both growled.

"Move it!" Tiger told them. "You're not gonna scare me anymore!"

"Big whoop," Tolansky spat. "I won't letcha take her."

"You wanna start somethin'?" Atticus glared as he soon grabbed Tolansky and pulled him down with his strength. "Huh?!"

"I didn't say that!" Tolansky whimpered. "I just said I wouldn't let ya take her...!"

"Then you both better get walkin'!" Tiger suggested.

"Alright, man, alright, we're walking!" Tolansky replied as he hoisted Mousey onto his back and walked out slowly.

Tiger glared with a firm nod as he walked out with them.

"Look what we found tryin' to crawl back into the sewer." Tony said as he came out with Fievel's parents and baby sister.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Watch where ya stick that, cat!" Mousey glared at Tiger.

"Look, just lay off her." Tolansky replied.

"OR I'LL TURN ON YOU LIKE A VICIOUS-" Mousey snarled.

"Lap dog...?" One of the dogs cut her off.

Mousey soon whimpered and backed up away from the High Council of Dogs out of fear.

Tolansky quickly got in front of her to defend her.

"Ah, you must be her boy toy dog." The lead dog smirked.

Tolansky blushed through his fur and turned his head sideways.

"Well, now, it's Mousey's turn to look from above." Lone Woof smirked.

"Lone Woof?" Fievel smiled hopefully.

"Shh." Lone Woof smirked.

"I guess he did come through after all," Lionel remarked.

"Aw, jeez... I'm sorry, Mousey..." Tolansky sighed. "Guess I screwed up big now."

"I do not blame you..." Mousey said softly before yelling. "I AM RATHER PEEVED THOUGH!"

"As am I, mi'lady." Tolanksy nodded.

* * *

Eventually, Reed was seen coming to.

"Oh... I was so afraid you were-" Tanya smiled, taking his paw.

"Relax, kid, I was-" Reed smiled back to her until he saw the mouse woman. "Nellie! Nellie, you're okay!"

"Oh, of course I am, Reed, you saved my life, though I don't know what possessed you." Nellie replied.

"I guess he DID have feelings for her." Lionel replied.

"Heh..." Cherry shrugged. "I guess it was just bound to happen."

Tanya soon cried before fainting in heartbreak as it seemed like Reed was in love with Nellie.

"Face it, T. He was several years your senior." Lionel replied.

"But whhhhy?" Tanya cried.

"It would've never worked out," Lionel replied. "Plus it was making you a jerk."

Tanya kept crying much to the others' annoyance.

"Tanya, my bubula~" Mama cooed as she handed Yasha to Papa so she could comfort her older daughter.

"Is she okay?" Tiger asked.

"I have no idea." Fievel shook his head in dismissal.

"Hopefully you never get like that." Lionel remarked.

"I sure hope so." Fievel agreed.

Hiram soon came out with Olivia as they were all okay now and Fievel smiled to Olivia once he saw that she was safe.


	8. Chapter 8

Later on, everyone decided to celebrate with a day at the beach, mostly with Cherry sitting in her own chair and held a parasol over head to keep the sun out while everyone else had fun on the beach. Lionel was clad in a pair of orange swim-shorts and a blue marina. Atticus was swimming in the water, though oddly for him, he didn't turn into a merboy, or in this case, a mermouse, but that was probably for the best.

"Wait, if our kids DID get married, would they also get your mer-powers?" Lionel asked.

"Um... What?" Atticus asked, not really understanding the question as Darla floated by on a floaty pool toy.

"Crap, I misphrased that," Lionel replied. "I meant if Cherry and I did get married and have kids, would _they_ also get mer-powers?"

"Well, it would depend actually," Atticus said. "I mean, my mother and Queen Athena were sisters, so it passed down onto me and my family. Cherry became an honorary mermaid because she helped us out and Uncle Triton thought it would be a nice reward. Honestly, I'm not sure, it could be a 50:50 shot either way."

"Hmmm... I guess I can live with those odds," Lionel shrugged.

"Usually though, my family and I can transfer the ability," Atticus said. "A merman or a mermaid would have to kiss you on the forehead, and you'll become a merfolk. That's what I did for Patch and now he becomes a merpuppy."

"Ah..." Lionel nodded.

"Did you wanna become a merboy?" Atticus asked.

"I guess. Could be kinda cool." Lionel replied.

"I'll see what we can do after we go back home." Atticus said.

"Hey, Atticus, you know Saleen?" Cherry smirked.

"Uh... I don't think so..." Atticus said.

"She's an evil mermaid," Cherry told those who didn't understand who she was talking about. "She works with an octopus named Armand."

"Oh..." Lionel replied. "Might as well pencil that in for later."

"I thought maybe you might know her." Cherry said to Atticus.

"Not to my knowledge," Atticus replied. "I'll ask my parents when we get back home."

* * *

Mama soon brought out some food which brought everyone out of the water to go and get something to eat.

"Alright, boardwalk food!" Lionel whooped.

"I've got cheese... I got more cheese..." Mama listed as she spread out the food.

"Well, at least it's consistent." Lionel shrugged.

"There's no such thing as too much cheese." Cherry murmured.

"Oh, what's the point... Being here?" Tanya sighed. "Life has no meaning."

"Aw, quit whining, Tanya," Lionel replied. "You're young. You'll find someone else."

"Here, eat a knish." Mama suggested.

"How's the newspaper, Papa?" Cherry asked.

"Oh, I love a story vith a happy ending." Papa smiled as he showed her the Daily Nibbler.

"Same here." Lionel nodded.

"And it's all to our brave little boy and his friends!" Mama beamed.

"That's right!" Papa added. "You all helped Nellie Brie find the monster, and it vas hiding right under our noses, and in return, she helped Fievel find courage that vas hiding right under his nose, in here." he then poked Fievel in his chest to point to his heart.

Fievel chuckled before yawning as he hugged his baby sister. "I wonder what the Dog Council did with Mousey and Tolansky?" he then said.

"Betcha they sent 'em to the pound." Tiger chuckled.

"Well, accordin' to my sources-" Tony began.

" _Your_ sources?" Tanya glared slightly.

"Well, okay, _Nellie's_ sources," Tony replied. "Anyway, the dogs made sure Mousey's gonna pay big for what she'd done."

"So, the pound?" Tiger asked.

"Worse," Tony smirked. "Much worse!"

And ironically enough, at that very moment...

* * *

"Come Mousey Wousey~" A woman cooed as she dragged her pet poodle on her leash.

"Oh, Mrs. Abernathy," Another woman said, seeing her. "Is that your lost poodle?"

"Yes," Mrs. Abernathy replied. "Someone must've seen my lost dog posters I put up in the park."

"And what of Tolansky?" asked Lionel.

The others shrugged to that before they chuckled to Mousey's punishment as Mrs. Abernathy took her down the boardwalk.

"Do not worry, Mousey... I will fight for you!" Tolansky glared as he peeked out. "I will make sure you have some vengeance! I will make us both have a happy ending! Even if I have to destroy a forest!" he then sounded insane. "I WILL KILL FOR YOUR HAPPINESS!" After a brief silence, he then said, "Okay, not _kill_. At best, inconvenience."

"Come along, Charles!" Mrs. Abernathy called to Tolansky as her husband pulled the dog along.

"Ah, well," Tolansky shrugged. "As long as I got Mousey, I'm happy."

"It's better than nothing." Mousey muttered, though she hated being stuck with her owner.

"At least I have you!" Tolansky smiled as he licked her on the cheek.

* * *

"What a bittersweet ending." Cherry commented to the others.

"Well, life at best IS bittersweet," Lionel replied. "But hey, we can all give our best to make it worth living."

"Hmm..." Cherry shrugged. "I suppose that's a good enough philosophy."

"Not to mention, Fievel's nightmare problems are kaputsky!" Lionel added.

"Yes, maybe Fievel can finally calm down and get some sleep." Mama added with a smile.

Everyone soon looked over to see that Fievel had fallen asleep and he looked calm this time.

"You vere saying?" Papa smirked to his wife.

"Sveet dreams, my little Fievel." Mama smiled happily.

"I suppose that rounds it out nicely." Lionel remarked, giving Cherry a kiss.

"Mm-hmm..." Cherry replied with a small nod. "Guess we'll go home then."

"Aww..." Darla pouted.

"Hey, don't sweat it!" Lionel replied. "We can visit them anytime!"

"Okay..." Darla said.

"Think you'll have any more nightmares after the great friend you've been, kiddo?" Atticus smiled.

"Hmm... I guess not." Darla smiled back.

"That's the spirit, kiddo!" Lionel beamed.

Darla gave a small smile to that.

"Well, until next time, whichever point the next story takes place, so long, everybody!" Lionel waved.

"Does he always do that?" Darla asked.

"More or less." Cherry replied.

Lionel shrugged. "You get used to it." he replied as the scene faded to black.

The End.


End file.
